Ns.. 


ANNALS 


OF 


BUFFALO  VALLEY, 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


i75S--i8S5- 


COLLATED   BY 


JOHN  BLAIR  LINN. 


HARRISBURG,  PA. 

LANE    S.    HART,    PRINTER    AND    BINDER. 

1877. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1877,  by 

JOHN  BLAIR  LINN, 

in  the  ofQce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


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INTRODUCTION. 


TvDUN  TRiBES-SniKELLiMY-LoGAN- Aborigines  of  the  Valley,  their 
■    Villages  and  Paths-Purchase  of  1754-Penn's  Creek  Massacre- 
Sources  OF  Emigration  to  the  Valley— Purchase  of  1<o8. 

N  the  year  1868,  when  I  proposed  to  myself  the  labor  of 
collating  these  Annals,  I  supposed  their  commencement 
would,  in  point  of  time,  be  with  the  date  of  the  purchase 
„„.«^,.„.  made  at  Fort  Stanwix,  November  5,  1768.  I  thought, 
"^^^^^st  sounds  breaking  the  stillness  of  the  Valley  were  the  cheer- 
ful 'ring  of  the  surveyor's  axe,  and  the  merry  shouts  of  advancmg 
settlers  let  loose  upon  the  "New  Purchase,"  by  the  land  office  adver- 
tisement of  February  23,  1769-  But  when  I  came  to  trace  the 
southern  line  of  that  purchase,  I  found  it  skn'ting  the  deserted  clearings 
and  blackened  hearth-stones  of  earlier  white  settlers,  ot  whose  sad 

fate  I  had  never  heard. 

These  annals,  therefore,  would  not  be  complete,  without  an  account 
of  the  Penn's  Creek  massacre  of  1755.  although  it  makes  the  history 
of  the  early  settlement  of  Buffalo  Valley  unpleasantly  like  that  of 
nearly  all  others  in  America,  in  the  injustice  of  the  settlers  toward  the 
Indians  and  the  bloody  retribution  that  followed  ;  and  I  have  turther 
concluded  to  add  all  the  reliable  information  I  could  obtain  ot  the 
Valley  prior  to  its  settlement  by  the  whites. 

The  localities  of  the  Indian  tribes  prior  to  William  Penn's  arrival, 
(October  24,  1682,)  have  been  identified  as  follows:  "The  Five 
Nations,"  as  they  were  then  called,  (after  1714,  "The  Six  Nations,") 
occupied  the  territory  north  of  the  sources  of  the  Susquehanna  and 
Delaware  rivers.  After  the  partial  settlement  of  the  country,  these 
1 


.I\.V.I/.S  OI-  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


confederate  tribes,  were  known  among  themselves  by  the  \\z.m.Q.Aquan- 
oschioni,  united  people;  by  the  English  they  were  called  the  Six 
Nations;  by  the  French,  the  Northern  Iroquois;  settlers  called  them 
sometimes  Mingoes  and  Maquais.  This  will  explain  the  reason  Shi- 
kellimy,  the  first  noted  inhabitant  of  Buffalo  Valley,  is  called,  in  let- 
ters from  Conrad  Weiser  and  others,  indifferently,  an  Iroquois  chief, 
a  Mingo  chief,  and  a  chief  of  the  Six  Nations. 

South  of  th.e  mouth  of  the  Hudson  lived  the  Delewares;  otherwise 
called  Lenni-Lenape,  or  original  people.  They  occupied  the  coun- 
try to  the  Potomac,and  were  divided  into  three  tribes:  i,  the'Turkeys; 
2,  the  Turtles;  3,  the  Wolfs  or  Muncys.  The  Muncys  occupied 
Pennsylvania,  from  the  Kittatinny  or  Blue  mountains  to  the  source  of 
the  Susquehanna,  and  were  the  most  active  and  warlike.  At  the  time 
of  Penn's  arrival,  the  Five  Nations  had  brought  under  their  dominion 
the  whole  country  of  the  Delawares.  About  the  year  1 700,  the  Shaw- 
anese,  who  came  originally  from  Florida  and  Georgia,  by  permission 
of  Penn's  government,  settled  in  Cumberland  valley,  having  their 
council  fire  near  Carlisle,  and  extending  northerly  into  what  is  now 
the  territory  of  Snyder  county,  and  as  far  as  Chillisquaque  creek,  sub- 
ject, of  course,  to  the  authority  of  the  Five  Nations. 

In  1 714,  the  Five  Nations  became  the  Six  Nations,  by  adopt- 
ing the  Tuscarora  tribe  which  had  been  expelled  from  North  Caro- 
lina and  Virginia;  and  subsequently  Shikeliimy,  who  was  a  chief  of 
the  Oneida  tribe,  was  sent  down  upon  the  Susquehanna  as  the  gov- 
erning <hief  of  the  conquered  Delawares  and  their  allies,  the  Shawa- 
ncsc.  In  a  letter  of  instruction  to  Smith  and  Pettys,  written  in  i  728, 
Governor  Patrick  Gordon  speaks  of  Shikeliimy  as  being  placed  over 
the  Shawanese;  adding  "he  is  a  good  man,  and  I  hope  will  give  a 
good  account  of  them."  Shikeliimy  fixed  his  residence  at  the  old 
Muncy  town,  in  Buffalo  Valley,  and  here  he  was  visited  by  the  first 
white  man  who,  as^  far  as  we  know,  ever  set  foot  within  it. 

(1737-)  27th  February,  1737,  Conrad  Weiser  records  in  his  jour- 
nal :  "Left  home  for  Onondaga,  ist  March,'left  Tolheo,*  which  is  the 
last  place  in  the  inhabited  part  of  Pennsylvania.  On  the  4th  we 
reached  Shaniokin^  but  did  not  find  a  living  soul  at  home  who  could 
as.sist  us  in  crossing  the  Susquehanna  river.     On  the  5th  we  lay  still; 

'  At  the  Klip  In  tlie  Hluc  iiiountnins,  where  tlie  l{ig  Swataia  breaks  througli  into 
Lcl)aiion  couniy.  'J  Now  Suiiliury. 


INTRODUCTION. 


we  had  now  made  about  eighty  miles.  6th,  we  observed  a  smoke  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  an  Indian  trader  came  over  and  took 
us  across.  We  again  lay  still  to-day.  On  the  7th  we  started  along 
one  branch  of  the  river,  going  to  the  north-west.  An  old  Shawano, 
by  name  Jenoniawana,  took  us  in  his  canoe  across  the  creek  at  Zilly 
Squachne.^  On  the  8th  we  reached  the  village  where  Shikelimo 
lives,  who  was  appointed  to  be  my  companion  and  guide  on  the  jour- 
ney. He  was,  however,  far  from  home  on  a  hunt.  Weather  became 
bad  and  the  waters  high,  and  no  Indian  could  be  induced  to  seek  Shi- 
kelimo until  the  12th,  when  two  young  Indians  agreed  to  go  out  in 
search  of  him.  On  the  i6th,  they  returned  with  word  that  Shikelimo 
would  be  back  next  day,  which  so  happened.  The  Indians  were  out 
of  provisions  at  this  place.  I  saw  a  new  blanket  given  for  about  one 
third  of  a  bushel  of  Indian  corn." 

The  site  of  this  village  is,  beyond  doubt,  on  the  farm  of  Hon. 
George  F.  Miller,  at  the  mouth  of  Sinking  run,  or  Shikellimy's  run, 
as  it  was  called  formerly,  at  the  old  ferry,  one  half  mile  below  Milton, 
on  the  Union  county  side.  It  is  a  beautiful  spot  for  a  village;  pro- 
tected on  the  north  by  a  range  of  hills,  with  the  river  much  narrowed 
in  front,  giving  easy  access  to  the  Northumberland  side. 

When  the  land  office  was  open  for  "  the  new  purchase,"  on  the  3d 
of  April,  1 769,  there  were  very  many  applications  made  for  this  loca- 
tion. In  all  of  them  it  is  called  either  old  Muncy  town,  Shikellimy's 
town,  or  Shikellimy's  old  town.  It  is  referred  to  as  a  locality  in  hun- 
dreds of  applications  for  land  in  the  Valley.  I  will  only  quote  one : 
"  Samuel  Huling  applies  for  three  hundred  acres  on  the  West  Branch 
of  the  Susquehanna,  about  one  mile  above  Shikellimy's  old  town,  in- 
cluding a  small  run  that  empties  into  the  river  opposite  an  island." 
The  Huling  location  was  secured  by  John  Fisher,  one  of  the  oldest  of 
our  settlers,  and  West  Milton  is  now  built  upon  it.  Shikellimy's  town 
was  on  the  "  Joseph  Hutchinson"  and  "  Michael  Weyland,"  warran- 
tee tracts,  from  whom  the  title  can  be  readily  traced  to  the  present 
owner.  Colonel  James  Moore,  Avho  lived  there  many  years,  told  me 
that  thousands  of  Indian  darts  were  plowed  up  there,  and  once,  when 
blasting  at  the  quarry,  they  uncovered  a  grave  hollowed  in  the  solid 
rock,  in  which  they  found  the  skeleton  of  an  Indian. 

Shikellimy,  sometime  after  Weiser's  visit,  removed  to  Shamokin, 

'  ChiUisquaque. 


.LW.ILS  OF  BUFFALO  l' ALLEY. 


now  Sunbury,  as  a  more  convenient  point  for  intercourse  with  the 
Proprietary  Governors.  On  the  9th  of  October,  1747,  Conrad 
VVeiser  says  he  was  at  Shamokin,  and  that  "  Shikellimy  was  very  sick 
with  fever.  He  was  hardly  able  to  stretch  forth  his  hand.  His  wife, 
three  sons,  one  daughter,  and  two  or  three  grandchildren  were  all  bad 
with  the  fever.  There  were  three  buried  out  of  the  family  a  few  days 
before,  one  of  whom  was  Cajadis,  who  had  been  married  to  his  daugh- 
ter above  fifteen  years,  and  was  reckoned  the  best  hunter  among  all  the 
Indians."  He  recovered,  however,  from  this  sickness,  and,  in  March, 
1748,  we  find  him  at  Weiser's,  in  Tulpehocken,  with  his  eldest  son, 
Tagheneghdourus.  He  died  in  April  1 749,  at  Sunbury,  and  the  latter 
succeeded  him  as  chief  and  representative  of  the  Six  Nations.^ 

Loskiel  thus  notices  this  celebrated  inhabitant  of  our  Valley : 
"Being  the  first  magistrate  and  head  chief  of  all  the  Iroquois  living 
on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  as  far  as  Onondaga,  [now  Syracuse, 
New  York,]  he  thought  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  be  very  circumspect 
in  his  dealings  with  the  white  people.  He  mistrusted  the  brethren 
[Moravians]  at  first,  but  upon  discovering  their  sincerity,  became 
their  firm  and  real  friend.  Being  much  engaged  in  political  affairs, 
he  had  learned  the  art  of  concealing  his  sentiments;  and,  therefore, 
never  contradicted  those  who  endeavored  to  prejudice  his  mind 
against  the  missionaries,  though  he  always  suspected  their  motives. 
In  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  became  less  reserved,  and  received  those 
brethren  that  came  to  Shamokin  into  his  house.  He  assisted  them  in 
building  and  defended  them  against  the  insults  of  drunken  Indians, 
being  himself  never  addicted  to  drinking,  because,  as  he  expressed  it, 
he  never  wished  to  make  a  fool  of  himself.  He  had  built  his  house 
upon  pillars  for  safety,  in  which  he  always  shut  himself  up  when  any 
drunken  frolic  was  going  on  in  the  village.  In  this  house.  Bishop 
Johannes  Von  Watteville,  and  his  company,  visited  and  preached  the 
Gospel  to  him.  It  was  then  the  Lord  opened  his  heart.  He  listened 
with  great  attention,  and  at  last,  with  tears,  respected  the  doctrine  of 
a  crucified  Jesus,  and  received  it  with  faith.  During  his  visit  to  Bethle- 
hem, a  remarkable  change  took  place  in  his  heart,  which  he  could  not 
conceal.  He  found  comfort,  peace,  and  joy  by  faith  in  his  Redeemer, 
and  the  brethren  considered  him  a  candidate  for  baptism.  But  hear- 
ing that  he  had  been  already  baptized  l)y  a  Roman  Catholic  priest 

'  As  fui-li,  HignlDg  the  decil  for  the  Indian  imrehase  of  22(1  August,  1749. 


INTRODUCTlOh. 


in  Canada,  they  only  endeavored  to  impress  his  mind  with  a  proper 
idea  of  the  sacramental  ordinance,  upon  which  he  destroyed  a  small 
idol  which  he  wore  about  his  neck.  After  his  return  to  Shamokin, 
the  grace  of  God  bestowed  upon  him  was  truly  manifest.  In  this 
state  of  mind,  he  was  taken  ill,  was  attended  by  brother  David  Zeis- 
berger,  and  in  his  presence  fell  asleep,  happy  in  the  Lord,  in  full 
assurance  of  obtaining  eternal  life  through  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

The  most  celebrated  of  his  sons  was  Logan,  the  Mingo  chief. 
By  the  journal  of  Mack  and  Grube,  Moravian  missionaries,  it  appears 
he  lived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chillisquaque  creek,  August  26,  1753. 
In  1765  he  lived  in  Raccoon  valley,  at  the  foot  of  the  Tuscarora 
mountain.  Loudon,  in  his  "  collections,"  says  he  could  speak  tol- 
erable English,  was  a  remarkably  tall  man — over  six  feet  high — 
and  well  proportioned  ;  of  brave,  open,  and  manly  countenance,  as 
straight  as  an  arrow,  and  apparently  afraid  of  no  one.  In  i  768  and 
1769  he  resided  near  Reedsville,  in  Mifflin  county,  and  has  given  his 
name  to  the  spring  near  that  place,  to  Logan's  branch  of  Spring 
creek,  in  Centre  county,  Logan's  path,  &c.  See  a  notice  of  an 
interview  with  him  in  the  memoir  of  Samuel  Maclay,  postea,  year 
181 1.  Heckewelder  says  he  was  introduced  to  Logan  in  1772. 
"I  thought  him  a  man  of  superior  talents.  He  then  intended  set- 
tling on  the  Ohio,  below  Big  Beaver.  In  April,  1773,  I  called  at 
his  settlement,  and  was  received  with  great  civility."  In  1774  oc- 
curred Lord  Dunmore's  expedition  against  the  Shawanese  towns,  now 
Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  which  was  the  occasion  of  Logan's 
celebrated  speech,  commencing  "I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say 
if  he  ever  entered  Logan's  cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  meat ;" 
which  will  go  down  to  all  time,  whether  properly  or  not,  as  a  splen- 
did outburst  of  Indian  eloquence. 

Heckewelder  says  he  afterwards  became  addicted  to  drinking,  and 
was  murdered,  between  Detroit  and  his  own  home,  in  October,  17S1 , 
and  he  was  shown  the  place.  "He  was,  at  the  time,  sitting  with 
his  blanket  over  his  head,  before  a  camp-fire,  his  elbows  resting  on 
his  knees,  when  an  Indian,  who  had  taken  some  offense,  stole  behind 
him,  and  buried  his  tomahawk  in  his  brains."  Howe's  Ohio  Col- 
lections, page  409,  who  quotes  as  his  authority  Good  Hunter,  an 
aged  Mingo  chief. 


A.VyALS  Of  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Aborigines  of  the  Valley. 

Of  the  Indians  who  occupied  Buffalo  Valley,  nothing  can  be  posi- 
tively ascertained,  except  that  they  belonged  to  the  Muncy-Minsi 
(or  Wolf)  tribe  of  the  Lenni-Lenape,  or  original  people.  The 
Valley  was  more  a  hunting  ground  than  a  residence.  Some  remains 
have  been  found  at  prominent  points  aiong  the  river,"  as,  for  instance, 
at  Colonel  Slifer's  house,  on  the  river,  above  the  mouth  of  Buffalo 
creek,  some  skeletons,  evidently  of  one  family  only,  were  uncovered. 
The  large  mounds  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  on  Joseph 
Nesbit's  place ;  and  the  principal  towns  or  villages,  Chillisquaque, 
at  the  mouth  of  that  ^reek,  south  side,  and  Shamokin,  on  the  island 
and  mainland,  where  Sunbury  now  stands. 

In  quite  a  number  of  applications  of  1769  mention  is,  however, 
made  of  an  old  Indian  town  and  fort,  on  the  Dietrick  Rees  tract, 
just  above  New  Columbia;  an  Indian  improvement  at  Laird  How- 
ard's spring,  in  Kelly  ;  one  on  the  Craig  tract,  on  the  river,  near 
VVinfield ;  one  below  that  yet,  on  the  Andrew  Culbertson,  afterwards 
known  as  the  Merrill  place;  on  the  "Richard  Edward's,"  now 
Stoltzfus'  place,  in  Kelly,  was  an  Indian  field  and  plum  orchard; 
and  there  was  an  improvement  at  Strohecker's  landing,  south  of 
Lewisburg. 

Indian  Paths. 

The  great  Indian  path  through  the  Valley  left  the  river  at  the  first 
ravine,  a  few  rods  below  the  Northumberland  bridge,  passed  up  it, 
following  the  main  road,  as  it  now  is,  for  a  few  miles,  then  turning 
towards  the  river,  it  came  down  the  hill  upon  the  Merrill  place ; 
thence  followed  the  bank  of  the  river,  up  through  the  old  Mac- 
pherson  place,  to  Lees,  Winfield  ;  thence  passing  up  the  present 
road,  it  crossed  directly  through  the  fields  from  the  Gundy  road  to 
Fourth  street,  Lewisburg ;  thence  to  Buffalo  creek,  where  the  iron , 
bridge  now  is,  a  very  old  fording  place  ;  thence  it  curved  towards 
the  river,  passed  up  through  Shikellimy's  town,  and  along  the  river 
road,  around  the  rocks,  into  White  Deer  Hole  valley.  A.  H.  Mc- 
Henry,  the  noted  surveyor,  told  me  it  could  be  distinctly  traced  by 
the  calls  of  surveys;  but  as  all  traces  of  it  are  now  obliterated  within 
the  Valley,  further  identification  is  unnecessary. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  paths  through  the  Valley  westward  are  obliterated,  historically 
and  topographically,  except  the  small  portion  of  the  one  passing 
into  Brush  valley,  which  may  still  be  traced  in  the  woods  west  of 
Solomon  Heberling's. 

Early  Notices  of  Names  of  Creeks,  &c. 

Buffalo  creek  is  mentioned  by  its  name  in  the  Indian  deed  of  Octo- 
ber 23,  1758.  Penn's  is  called  John  Penn's  creek  in  the  same  deed. 
In  the  deed  of  July  6,  1 754,  it  is  called  Kaarondinhah.  It  was  called 
by  the  settlers,  between  1754  and  1769,  and  marked  on  Scull's  map 
of  1759,  Big  Mahany,  and  is  so  recited  in  deeds  as  late  as  1772. 
Thus  the  "Henry  Christ"  warrantee,  (now  in  Monroe  township, 
Snyder  county,)  afterwards  Herbster's  place,  is  described  as  in 
"  Buffalo  township,  formerly  of  the  name  of  Shamokin,  and  bounded 
by  Big  Mahany  creek,  lands  of  George  Gabriel,  Abraham  Herr,  and 
others." — Deed  of  Herbster  to  George  Haines,  26th  May,  1772.  In 
a  deed  from  John  Turner  to  John  Harris,  June,  1755,  for  an  im- 
provement, (now  in  Hartley  township,  owned  byR.  V.  B.  Lincoln, 
Esquire.)  the  creek  is  called  "Mahanoy." 

Turtle  creek  was  so  called  before  1769,  and  in  the  latter  year  I 
found  the  stream  below  it,  traversing  Dry  valley,  called  Lee's  run, 
after  John  Lee,  the  first  settler  of  the  site  of  Winfield. 

Switzer  run  had  an  alias  in  1769 — Lick  run,  probably  after  Peter 
Lick,  who  was  carried  off  by  the  Indians  in  1755  ;  but  the  interest 
felt  in  the  mournful  tragedy  hereafter  related  substituted  the  name 
of  Switzer  for  the  name  given  it  by  the  surveyors  in  1769. 

White  Deer  creek  is  marked  on  Scull's  map  of  1 759  with  the  Indian 
name  of  Opaghtanoten,  or  White  Flint  creek.  The  run  entering 
the  river  on  the  late  Samuel  Henderson's  place,  in  White  Deer  town- 
ship, was  called  by  William  Blythe,  the  first  settler  there,  Red-Bank 
run ;  and  the  bottom  above,  between  it  and  White  Deer  creek, 
had,  before  1769,  the  name  Turkey  bottom,  from  the  immense  num- 
ber of  wild  turkeys  haunting  it. 

Dog  run  came  in  by  the  old  Indian  fort,  which  stood  near  New 
Columbia.  Beaver  run,  in  Buffalo  township,  had  that  name  before 
1 769,  from  a  large  beaver  dam  near  its  mouth.  Wilson's  run,  enter- 
ing at  Lewisburg,  had  the  name  of  Limestone  run.     White  Springs 


A.WVALS  OF  BUFFALO   ]' ALLEY. 


(at  Barber's,  in  Limestone  township)  is  so  called  in  the  return  of 
a  survey  made  by  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  in  1755.  Laurel  run 
had  that  name  prior  to  1 773  ;  and  Spruce  run  is  so  called  on  Colonel 
Kelly's  application  for  land  upon  it,  dated  nth  June,  1769. 

The  hills  bounding  the  ^^alley  on  the  south  were  called  Shamokin, 
from  the  earliest  times  I  find  them  mentioned ;  of  late  years  they 
have  had  the  name  of  Chestnut  Ridge.  Nittany  mountain  had  its 
name  as  early  as  1 768.  Buffalo  and  White  Deer  mountains  took 
their  names  from  the  respective  creeks.  Jack's  mountain,  extending 
from  Centreville,  Snyder  county,  to  Scottsville,  Huntingdon  county, 
was  so  called  from  Jack  Armstrong,  an  Lidian. trader,  who  was  mur- 
dered in  the  narrows,  in  1744,  near  Mt.  Union.  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  second  volume,  136. 

(1755.)    Ike  Mahany  or  Fenn's  Creek  Massacre. 

Cumberland  county  was  erected  out  of  Lancaster,  on  the  27th  of 
January,  1750,  and  was  to  embrace  all  the  lands  within  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania  westward  of  the  Susquehanna  and  north  and  west- 
ward of  York  county.  The  country  was  then  purchased  from  the 
Lidians  as  far  north  as  the  present  southern  line  of  Perry  county. 
Nevertheless,  settlers  pushed  on  north  of  the  boundary — the  Kitta- 
tinny  or  Blue  mountains.  As  early  as  1753,  at  a  council  held  at 
Carlisle,  the  Indians  protested  against  the  occupation  of  the  country 
north  of  the  line  by  the  white  settlers,  and  "wished  the  people 
called  back  from  the  '  Juniata '  lands  until  matters  were  settled  between 
them  and  the  French,  lest  damage  should  be  done,  and  then  the 
l-jiglish  would  think  ill  of  them."  Then  came  the  treaty  of  the  6th 
of  July,  1754,  at  Albany,  between  the  chiefs  of  the  Mohawks, 
Oneida-s,  Onondagos,  Cayugas,  Senecas,  and  Tuscaroras,  known  as 
the  Si.x  Nations,  and  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn,  conveying  that 
part  of  the  Province  west  and  south  of  a  line  commencing  at  the 
"  Kittochtinny  "  or  Blue  hills,  on  the  Susciuehanna  river,  (a  little 
south  of  where  the  southern  line  of  Perry  county  now  strikes  the 
river ;)  thence,  by  said  river,  to  a  point  one  mile  above  the  mouth 
of  a  certain  creek,  called  Kaarondinhah ;  thence  north-west  and  by 
west  as  far  as  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  extends,  to  its  western 
line  or  boundary,  iVc.     On  an  old  map  I  have,  printed  in  i  771,  this 


INTRODUCTION. 


line  is  marked  running  from  a  mile  above  Penn's  creek,  N.  45"^ 
W.,  crossing  the  river  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  Sinnemahoning, 
and  striking  Lake  Erie  a  few  miles  north  of  Presqu'Isle,  (novv 
Erie.)  Within  the  Valley,  it  crossed  Penn's  creek,  near  New 
Berlin,  the  turnpike,  near  Ray's  church,  thence  over  Buffalo  creek 
and  mountain. 

The  Indians  alleged  afterwards  (see  Weiser's  journal  of  the  con- 
ference at  Aughwick,  September,  1754)  that  they  did  not  under- 
stand the  points  of  the  compass,  and  that  if  the  line  was  so  run  as 
to  include  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquelianna,  they  would  never 
agree  to  it. 

Settlers,  nevertheless,  pushed  their  way  up  along  Penn's  creek. 
George  Gabriel  had  a  house  where  Selinsgrove  now  stands  as  early 
as  1754,  and  Godfrey  Fryer,  John  Young,  George  Linn,  George 
Schnable,  and  others  were  in  his  immediate  neighborhood.  The 
Proprietaries,  with  their  understanding  of  the  line,  made  surveys  along 
Penn's  creek,  in  Buffalo  Valley,  as  early  as  the  13th  of  February, 
175s  ;  and  William  Doran  had  an  improvement  where  Jacob  Shively 
now  lives  before  that  date.  I  have  a  copy  of  a  survey  General 
John  Armstrong,  then  deputy  under  Nicholas  Scull,  made  for  Henry 
Nufer,  adjoining  Doran's,  dated  13th  February,  1755. 

The  inhabitants  along  the  creek  in  the  Valley  proper  numbered 
twenty-five.  Their  names  and  their  places  of  residence,  for  the  most 
part,  were  obliterated  with  them.  One  John  Turner  had  improved 
Esquire  Lincoln's  place.  It  appears  by  John  Harris'  ledger,  pub- 
lished among  "The  Dauphin  County  Historical  Contributions," 
that  Turner  sold  his  improvement  to  Harris,  June  17,  1755.  There 
was  a  settlement  near  Kaufman's  grist-mill.  A  man  by  the  name  of 
Andrew  Smith  lived  at  White  springs.  Jacob  LeRoy,  or  King,  as 
he  was  called  by  the  settlers,  lived  at  the  spring  on  the  late  Hon.  Isaac 
Slenker's  place,  in  Limestone  township.  There  was  a  settlement  on 
the  New  Berlin  road,  called  for  many  years  afterwards  Breylinger's 
improvement,  after  the  German  killed  there.  The  late  Philip  Pon- 
tius told  me  his  grandfather  had  made  an  improvement  at  Cedar 
spring,  his  late  residence,  in  1755. 

(1755.)  Braddock's  defeat  (July  9)  emboldened  the  Indians,  and 
they  determined  to  clear  out  all  these  settlements ;  and  they  did  it 
so  effectually,  that  although,  by  the  treaty  of  1758,  the  western  part 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


of  the  Valley  became  the  Proprietaries,  no  settlers  ventured  upon 
the  bloody  ground  until  after  the  surveys  of  1768. 

In  October,  i  755,  the  Indians  came  down  upon  the  settlers.  Two 
men  were  murdered  within  five  miles  of  George  Gabriel's,  and  four 
women  carried  off.  The  following  cotemporary  record  tells  the 
whole  story.  It  is  a  petition,  addressed  to  Robert  Hunter  Morris, 
then  Governor  under  the  Proprietaries: 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  living  near  the  mouth  of  Penn's  creek,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  humbly  show  that,  on  or  about 
the  1 6th  October,  the  enemy  came  down  upon  said  creek,  killed, 
scalped,  and  carried  away  all  the  men,  women,  and  children,  amount- 
ing to  twenty-five  in  nvmiber,  and  wounded  one  man,  who,  fortu- 
nately, made  his  escape,  and  brought  us  the  news.  Whereupon  the 
subscribers  went  out  and  buried  the  dead.  We  found  thirteen,  who 
were  men  and  elderly  women,  and  one  child,  two  weeks  old;  the 
rest  being  young  women  and  children,  we  suppose  to  be  carried 
away.  The  house  (where  we  suppose  they  finished  their  murder,)  we 
found  burned  up,  the  man  of  it,  named  Jacob  King,  a  Swisser,  lying 
just  by  it.  He  lay  on  his  back,  barbarously  burned,  and  two  toma- 
hawks sticking  in  his  forehead ;  one  of  them  newly  marked  W.  D. 
We  have  sent  them  to  your  Honor.  The  terror  of  which  has  drove 
away  all  the  inhabitants  except  us.  We  are  willing  to  stay,  and 
defend  the  land,  but  need  arms,  ammunition,  and  assistance.  With- 
out them,  we  must  flee,  and  leave  the  country  to  the  mercy  of  the 
enemy. 

George  Glidwell,  Jacob  Simmons, 

George  .A.urhmudy,  Conrad  Craymer, 

John  iMcCahan,  George  Fry, 

Abraham  Sowerkill,  George  Schnable, 

Edmund  Matthews,  George  Aberhart, 

Mark  Curry,  Daniel  Braugh, 

William  Doran,  George  Linn, 

Dennis  Mucklehenny,  Godfrey  Fryer. 

John  Young, 
Jacob  King,  alias  ]o\m  Jacob  LeRoy,  was  killed  at  the  spring  oil 
the  late  Mr.  Slenker's  farm.     He  came  over,  in  the  ship  Phoenix, 
from    Rotterdam,  arriving   at    Philadelphia,  November   22,    1752, 
in  the  same  vessel  whi(  h  brought  over  John  Thomas  Beck,  grand- 


INTROD  UCTION. 


father  of  Doctor  S.  L.  Beck,  of  Lewisburg.  Rupp's  Collection, 
page  225. 

In  the  third  volume  of  the  Pennsylvania  Archives,  on  page  ^TyT^, 
will  be  found  the  "Examination  of  Barbara  Liningaree  and  Mary 
Roy,  1759.  They  say  they  were  both  inhabitants  of  this  Province, 
and  lived  on  John  Penn's  creek,  near  George  Gabriel's;  that  on 
the  1 6th  October,  1755,  a  party  of  fourteen  Indians  fell  upon  the 
inhabitants  at  that  creek  by  surprise,  and  killed  fifteen,  and  took  and 
carried  off  prisoners  examinants  and  eight  more,  viz ;  Jacob  Roy, 
brother  of  Mary  Roy;  Rachel  Liningaree,  sister  of  Barbara;  Marian 
Wheeler;  Hannah,  wife  of  Jacob  Breylinger,  and  two  of  her  child- 
ren, (one  of  which  died  at  Kittanin'  of  hunger;)  Peter  Lick  and 
two  of  his  sons,  named  John  and  William. 

"  The  names  of  the  Indians  were  Kech  Kinnyperlin,  Joseph  Com- 
pass and  young  James  Compass,  young  Thomas  Hickman,  one  Kal- 
asquay,  Souchy,  Machynego,  Katoochquay.  These  examinants  were 
carried  to  the  Indian  town  Kittanning,  where  they  staid  until  Sep- 
tember, 1756,  and  were  in  ye  fort  opposite  thereto  when  Colonel 
Armstrong  burned  it.  Thence  they  were  carried  to  Fort  Duquesne, 
and  many  other  women  and  children,  they  think  an  hundred,  who 
were  carried  away  from  the  several  Provinces  of  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  They  staid  two  months,  and  were  carried  to 
Saucang,  twenty-five  miles  below,  at  the  mouth  of  Big  Beaver  creek. 
In  the  spring  of  1757  they  were  carried  to  the  Kuskusky,  up  Beaver 
creek  twenty-five  miles,  where  they  staid  until  they  heard  the  Eng- 
lish were  marching  against  Duquesne,  and  then  the  Indians  quitted 
Kuskusky,  and  took  these  examinants  with  them  to  Muskingham,  as 
they  think,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  On  the  i6th  March  made 
their  escape,  and  got  to  Pittsburgh  on  the  31st."  The  date  of  this 
deposition  is  about  May  6,  1759. 

There  was  a  Catharine  Smith  among  the  prisoners  re-captured  by 
General  Armstrong,  September  8,  1756,  at  Kittanning,  and  brought 
back,  said  to  have  been  taken  from  Shamokin;  but  as  her  name  is 
not  mentioned  above,  it  may  be  doubtful  whether  she  was  of  the 
family  of  Andrew  Smith,  who  lived  at  White  springs.  As  the  others 
were  captives  over  four  years,  possibly  they  had  forgotten  her. 
Barbara  Leininger  was  the  name  of  the  girl  called  Liningaree.  The 
next  place  west  of  David  Oldt,  and  about  two  miles  below  New 


.-iXX.lLS  OF  BUFFALO-  VALLEY. 


Berlin,  is  called,  in  the  old  survey,  "  Breylinger's  improvement," 
and  was  where  Jacob  Breylinger  lived.  Peter  Lick,  no  doubt,  lived 
on  Lick  run,  or  Switzer  run,  a  short  distance  above  New  Berlin. 
A  full  narrative  of  Anne  M.  LeRoy  and  Barbara  Leininger's  adven- 
tures was  published  by  Peter  Miller,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1759.  I 
have  had  diligent  search  made  for  it,  but  without  success. 

Anne  ^L  LeRoy  was  living  in  Lancaster  in  1764,  when  she  made 
affidavit  again  in  regard  to  her  capture  and  the  visits  of  the  Cones- 
toga  Indians  to  Kittanning.  The  only  further  trace  of  the  LeRoy 
family  that  I  can  find  is  a  recital  in  a  deed,  that  on  the  19th  of 
October,  1772,  John  James  LeRoy,  the  son,  of  Prince  George 
county,  Maryland,  sold  the  LeRoy  tract  in  Buffalo  Valley  to  Andrew 
Pontius,  of  Tulpehocken.  The  latter  was  an  uncle  of  the  late  Philip 
Pontius,  of  Buffalo,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  several  reminis- 
cences. He  said,  years  afterward,  when  clearing  up  John  Hoy's 
place,  adjoining,  they  found  several  gold  eagles,  dropped,  no  doubt, 
by  the  Indians  or  their  captives.  This  gave  rise  to  rumors  that  money 
had  been  buried  on  the  place.  Many  expeditions  were  made  by 
night  to  dig  for  the  treasure  ;  but,  except  a  few  sleeve  buttons,  noth- 
ing was  ever  found.  From  conversation  with  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, I  find  the  witch  cloud  still  lingers  about  that  fateful  spring, 
although  the  wintry  winds  of  more  than  a  century  have  swept  above 
it.  Switzer  run  preserves  the  nationality  of  the  first  settler.  It 
empties  into  Penn's  creek,  a  short  distance  above  New  Berlin. 

.\mong  the  settlers  on  Middle  creek,  then  called  Christunn,  I. 
1).  Rupp  informed  me,  was  John  Zehring,  a  relative  of  the  Rupp 
family,  who  was  driven  off  by  this  massacre.  He  is  corroborated 
by  a  recital  I  find  upon  Zehring's  warrant,  dated  November  12, 
i7^5i  "  for  J^wo  hundred  acres,  including  his  improvement  made  in 
^755>  from  which  he  was  driven  off  by  the  Indians,  adjoining  Chris- 
tunn or  Middle  creek."  The  Zehrings  have  still  descendants  there. 
Old  Peter  Decker  married  a  Zehring,  and  Michael  S.  Decker,  of 
Paxlonville,  Snyder  county,  is  of  the  family. 

(i  756.)  A  secjuence  of  the  Penn's  creek  massacre  was  the  building 
of  Fort  .Augusta,  (Sunbury,)  at  the  then  Indian  town  of  Shamokin, 
in  July,  175C.  This  was  done  with  the  consent  and  at  the  request 
of  the  Indians,  from  a  well-grounded  fear  that  the  French  meant  to 
take  possession  of  the  place,  and  build  a  fort  there.     Among  the 


INTRODUCTION.  13 


officers  of  Colonel  Clapham's  regiment,  by  whom  the  fort  was  built, 
I  note  the  names  of  John  Hambright  and  William  Plunket,  after- 
wards prominent  in  the  political  affairs  of  Northumberland  county. 
George  Gabriel  and  Joseph  Greenwood,  as  appears  by  their  auto- 
graphs to  an  affidavit  before  James  Burd,  Esquire,  dated  2d  June, 
1756,  were  sworn  as  guides  to  Colonel  Clapham's  regiment. 

Ensign  Miles,  afterward  Colonel  Samuel  Miles,  of  the  Revolution, 
and  proprietor  of  Milesburg,  in  Centre  county,  who  belonged  to 
Colonel  Clapham's  regiment,  in  his  manuscript  journal  says,  "we 
marched  up  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  until  we  came  oppo- 
site  where  the  town  of  Sunbury  now  stands,  where  we  crossed  in 
batteaux,  and  I  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  man  who  put  his 
foot  on  shore  at  landing,  In  building  the  fort.  Captain  Levi  Trump 
and  myself,  had  charge  of  the  workmen;  and  after  it  was  finished, 
our  battalion  remained  there  in  garrison  until  the  year  1758.  In 
the  summer  of  1757,  I  was  nearly  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians. 
At  about  one-half  mile  distance  from  the  fort  stood  a  large  tree  that 
bore  excellent  plums,  on  an  open  piece  of  ground,  near  what  is 
now  called  the  Bloody  spring.  Lieutenant  Samuel  Atlee  and  myself 
one  day  took  a  walk  to  this  tree,  to  gather  plums.  While  we  were 
there,  a  party  of  Indians  lay  a  short  distance  from  us,  concealed  in 
the  thicket,  and  had  nearly  got  between  us  and  the  fort,  when  a 
soldier,  belonging  to  the  bullock  guard  not  far  from  us,  came  to  the 
spring  to  drink.  The  Indians  were  thereby  in  danger  of  being  dis- 
covered \  and,  in  consequence,  fired  at  and  killed  the  soldier,  by 
which  means  we  got  off,  and  returned  to  the  fort  in  much  less  time 
than  we  were  in  coming  out."  See  Burd's  journal,  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  second  series,  745,  for  an  interesting  account  of  difficul- 
ties encountered  in  completing  the  fort. 

As  it  will  be  of  interest  to  many  to  trace  their  ancestry  as  far 
backward  in  the  history  of  the  settlement  of  the  Province  as  possible, 
I  have  collated  from  I.  D.  Rupp's  histories  and  other  sources  all  I 
could  find  in  reference  to  the  emigration  and  former  settlement  of 
the  families  of  the  Valley. 

(1723.)  Among  those  who  came  from  Albany,  New  York,  with 
Conrad  Weiser,  and  settled  in  Tulpehocken,  now  in  Berks  county, 
in  the  year  1723,  occur  the  names  of  Henry  Boyer,  Philip  Brown, 
Simon  Bogenreif,  George  Christ,  John  A.  Diffenbach,  Jacob  Fisher, 


/y  ANSALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Jacob  FoUmer,  Jacob  Huffman,  Peter  Kephart,  John  Pontius,  Leon- 
ard Rees,  Henry  Reicienbaugh,  Adam  Ream,  John  Spyker,  Ulrich 
Schwartz,  Adam  Stein,  Peter  Sarvey,  Mathias  Shafer,  Christopher 
Weiser. 

In  the  same  year,  there  were  already  settled  in  Donegal  township, 
Lancaster  county,  the  Andersons,  Campbells,  Clarks,  Cooks,  Caro- 
thers,  Ewings,  Fosters,  Howards,  Kerrs,  Kellys,  Lowreys,  Littles, 
Moores,  McClellans,  Pattersons,  Semples,  Scotts,  Smiths,  and 
Walkers. 

(1729,  August.)  Robert  Barber,  Esquire,  ancestor  of  the  Barber 
family,  was  the  first  sheriff  of  Lancaster  county.  The  Wrights  came 
from  Lancastershire,  England,  in  1714.  Settled  at  Columbia  in 
1726,  and  John  Wright  named  Lancaster  county  from  his  old  resi- 
dence. 

As  early  as  1735,  the  following  families  had  settled  in  Lancaster 
county :  the  Allisons,  Adams's,  Alexanders,  Bishops,  Buchanans, 
Barretts,  Bears,  Blythes,  Blacks,  Douglass's,  Daughertys,  Greenes, 
Hustons,  Hennings,  Hendersons,  Irwins,  Ketlers,  Keysers,  Klings, 
Lowdons,  Lynks,  McClenahans,  Murrays,  Mitchells,  Meixells,  Mc- 
Phersons,  McClures,  Phillips's,  Royers,  Ramsays,  Robinsons,  Rank-s, 
Ross's,  Steeles,  Saunders's,  Thomas's,  Wolf's,  Wise's,  Webbs,  Wat- 
sons, Walters,  and  Walls. 

(1749,  September  27.)  Wendell  Baker,  ancestor  of  the  Baker 
family,  landed  at  Philadelphia.  On  the  same  vessel  came  John 
George  Schnable,  John  Henry  Beck,  John  Simon  Shreiner,  and  R. 
Fries. 

(1750.)  Among  the  dwellers  in  West  Derry,  Lancaster  county, 
(now  Dauphin,)  were  the  Candors,  Clarks,  Chambers,  Caldwells, 
Lairds,  Morrisons,  Ramseys,  Shaws,  and  Thompsons.  In  East  Derry, 
the  Boyds.  James  Duncan,  James  Foster,  John  Foster,  Hugh  and 
Patrick  Hayes,  William  Huston,  John  Moore,  Orrs,  William  Wilson. 
In  Paxton,  West — Robert  Correy,  George  Gabriel,  George  Gillespie, 
James  Harris,  Samuel  Hunter,  Thomas  McCormick,  James  Mc- 
Knight,  James  Reed.  South  end — John  Gray,  John  Johnston,  Rich- 
arfl  McClure,  John  Morrison,  John  Wilson.  Of  the  Narrows — the 
Armstrongs,  Robert  Clark,  George  Clark,  William  Foster,  Thomas 
McKce.  In  Hanover — John  Brown,  James  Finney,  William  Irwin, 
William  Laird,  Thomas  McGuire,   Robert  Martin,  George  Miller, 


/A'77?  OD  UC  TION.  15 


Andrew  Wallace,  Samuel  Young.  In  Hanover,  East — John  Craw- 
ford, John  Graham,  Robert  Haslett,  Adam  Harper,  Jacob  Musser, 
Edward  McMurray,  and  James  Young. 

In  Middleton  township,  Cumberland  county,  we  find  the  names  of 
William  Armstrong,  William  Blythe,  James  Chambers,  James  Dun- 
lap,  William  Fleming,  Andrew  Gregg,  James  Henderson,  Jonathan 
Holmes,  William  Jordan,  John  Kinkaid,  Hugh  Laird,  John  Robb, 
John  Reed,  Robert  Reed,  George  Templeton.  In  Hopewell,  Cum- 
berland also,  were  John  Beatty,  Robert  Chambers,  John  Nesbit, 
Robert  Simonton,  William  Thompson.  In  Logan  township,  now 
in  Franklin  county,  were  Isaac  Grier,  William  Greenlee,  Samuel  Jor- 
dan, Samuel  Laird,  William  Linn,  senior,  William  Linn,  junior.  In 
Peters  township,  same  county,  John  Potter,  (father  of  the  General) 
and  Samuel  Templeton. 

(1754.)  In  Bethel,  the  most  remote  north-west  township  in  Berks 
county,  we  find,  in  1754,  George  Boeshor,  George  Emerick,  Michael 
Grove,  George  Grove,  Nicholas  Pontius,  George  Reninger,  Tacob 
Leininger,  Jacob  Seirer,  Ulrich  Seltzer,  Baltzer  Smith,  Michael 
Weyland. 

(1756.)  In  Cumru  township,  occur  the  names  of  George  Engle- 
hart,  George  Ream,  Andrew  Wolf,  &c.  In  Exeter,  the  same  year, 
the  names  of  John  Aurand,  William  Boone,  Peter  Boechtel,  Leonard 
High,  Fredrick  Kunkle,  Mordecai  Lincoln,  Michael  Ludwig,  Peter 
Noil,  Peter  Smith,  Jacob  Yoder.  In  Greenwich,  same  year,  John  C. 
Baum,  Henry  Faust,  Michael  Gotshall,  Peter  Leonard,  Michael 
Leiby,  Michael  Lesher,  Michael  Smith.  In  Heidelberg,  same  year, 
George  Aumiller,  Peter  Betz,  Peter  Bolender,  Philip  Bower,  Henry 
Christ,  Ludwig  Derr,  Andrew  Ruhl,  George  Rorabaugh,  Frederick 
Stump,  Jacob  Wetzel.  In  the  docket  of  Peter  Spyker,  Esquire, 
Tulpehocken,  1756,  we  find,  among  the  names  of  referees,  John 
George  Anspach,  Henry  Bogenreif,  George  Christ,  Peter  Gebhart, 
John  Heberling,  Henry  Hetzel,  Peter  Kaufman,  Jacob  Lutz,  Jacob 
Miller,  Nicholas  Pontius,  Nicholas  Reed,  William  Spotts,  Adam 
Smith,  Martin  Trester,  Nicholas  Wolf.  Peter  Winkleplecht,  Jacob 
Zerbe.  He  records  that  Adam  Guyer  was  bound  to  learn  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  (a  trade  the  same  family,  to  my  knowledge,  followed 
a  hundred  years.)  John  George  Wolfe  also  bound  to  Jacob  Follmer, 
for  thirteen  years,  &c. 


,(,  A.WXALS  or  DUl'FAl.O  VALLEY. 


(i  757-)  ^^  Maiden  Creek  township,  occur  the  names  of  the  Dun- 
kels  and  Hoys.  In  Maxatawney,  John  Bear,  Andrew  Boahch, 
John  Frederick,  Joseph  Gross,  Samuel  Guilden,  Samuel  High,  Jacob 
Kaufman,  Henry  Lutz.  In  Oley,  John  Yoder.  In  Rockland,  John 
Albright,  George  Angstadt,  Lewis  Bitting,  Peter  Keiffer,  John  Moil, 
Henry  Mertz.  Windsor — Mathias  Alspach,  Killian  Dunkel,  Jacob 
Hummel,  John  Hess,  Conrad  Heiser,  Wendell  Keiffer,  Jacob  Roush 
Michael  Rentchler,  Leonard  Reber.  October  16,  17G8,  came  over 
in  the  same  vessel  Michael  Beeber,  Valentine  Beeber,  (grandfather  of 
John  Beeber,  late  of  Lewisburg,  deceased,  to  whose  accurate  mem- 
ory I  am  indebted  for  many  dates  and  incidents,)  Andrew  Hauck, 
and  John  Peter  Frick.  More  than  a  century  has  elapsed,  and  their 
descendants  are  still  within  an  hour's  ride  of  eacli  other. 

(i  758.)  The  south-western  portion  of  Buffalo  Valley  was  included 
in  the  purchase  from  the  Six  Nations,  made  at  P^aston,  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  23d  of  October,  1758,  with  the  bounds  of  which  they  de- 
clared themselves  perfectly  satisfied.  I  copy  the  boundary  line  from 
the  original  deed  in  the  Executive  Chamber,  at  Harrisburg :  "  Begin- 
ning at  the  Kittachtinny  or  Blue  hills,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river 
Suscjuehannah,  and  running  thence  up  the  said  river,  binding  there- 
with, to  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  a  creek  called  Kaarondinhah,  (or 
John  Penn's  creek;)  thence  north-west  and  by  west  to  a  creek  called 
Buffalo  creek;  thence  west  to  the  east  side  of  the  Allegany  or  Appa- 
lachian hills;  thence,  along  the  east  side  of  the  said  hills,  binding 
therewith,  to  the  south  line  or  boundary  of  the  said  Province ;  thence, 
by  the  said  south  line  or  boundary,  to  the  south  side  of  the  Kit- 
tachtinny hills;  thence,  by  the  south  side  of  the  said  hills,  to  the 
place  of  beginning." 

The  change  of  boundary  from  that  of  the  deed  of  1754,  it  will  be 
observed,  excluded  all  the  territory  subsequently  included  in  the 
purchases  of  1768  and  1784,  or  more  than  one  half  of  the  State  as 
now  constituted.  To  localize  and  modernize  the  change  and  new 
boundary,  it  excluded  more  than  the  one  half  of  tiie  territory  of 
Union  county  as  at  present  constituted.  The  boundary,  instead  of 
running  north-west  to  Lake  Erie,  stopped  at  Buffalo  creek,  near 
where  Orwig's  mill  now  stands,  in  Lewis  township,  and  thence  ran 
directly  west,  or  nearly  so,  to  the  junction  of  Spring  creek  with  Bald 
Eagle,  now  Milesburg;  thence  south-westerly  to  what  is  now  the 


INTRODUCTION.  ij 


north-east  corner  of  Cambria  ;  thence  along  the  west  side  of  Blair  and 
Bedford,  terminating  at  the  Maryland  line,  between  the  boundaries 
of  Bedford  and  Somerset  counties. 

This  line  was  never  run,  nor  were  there  any  official  surveys  made 
quite  near  it  until  six  years  afterwards.  So  cautious  were  the  Pro- 
prietaries at  this  period  of  offending  the  Indians  by  making  surveys 
beyond  the  lines,  that  the  most  positive  instructions  were  given  on 
this  head,  and  the  west  end  of  Nittany  mountains.  Lament  now, 
appeared  to  have  been  assumed  as  the  most  northerly  and  westerly 
station.  Its  assumed  locality,  however,  marked  the  boundary  between 
Cumberland  and  Berks  counties,  which  can  still  be  identified  upon 
the  ground.  As,  for  instance,  a  little  distance  north  of  Ray's  church, 
on  the  turnpike,  on  or  near  the  boundary  line  of  Benjamin  and  Abra- 
ham Mench's,  stood,  and  probably  stands  yet,  a  black  oak,  common 
corner  of  the  Little,  Templeton,  Mackaraiss,  and  David  Johnston's 
surveys  of  1 769.  The  course  of  the  south-western  line  of  the  latter 
survey  being  N.  57°  W.,  that  of  the  county  or  Indian  line  N.  45° 
W.,  left  a  little  corner  of  the  David  Johnston,  a  Berks  county  survey, 
in  Cumberland  county,  and  it  was  not  cleared  for  many  years,  under 
the  supposition  that  it  could  not  be  held  by  the  David  Johnston 
warrant,  not  being  in  Berks  county. 

The  north-east  corner  of  this  purchase  was,  no  doubt,  made  one 
mile  above  the  mouth  of  Penn's  creek,  in  order  to  include  Gabriel's 
improvement,  on  the  spot  where  Selinsgrove  now  stands.  Other- 
wise, what  more  natural  course  than  to  stop  opposite  the  mouth  of 
Mahanoy  creek,  the  north-western  corner  of  the  purchase  of  1749,. 
now  Port  Trevorton. 

A  line  of  marked  trees  was  made  by  George  Gabriel  and  the 
Indians,  from  a  Spanish  oak  standing  on  the  river  bank,  which,  in 
1 766,  when  William  Maclay  ran  the  John  Cox  survey,  stood  two 
hundred  and  ninety-two  perches  above  the  mouth  of  Penn's  creek, 
to  a  black  oak  on  Penn's  creek,  about  one  mile  up  Penn's  creek, 
near  App's  grist-mill,  (corner  of  Henry  Christ  and  Adam  Ewig  sur- 
veys.) Their  line,  being  made  without  a  compass,  ran  west,  instead 
of  N.  45°  W.,  or  rather  N.  49°  W.,  as  Mr.  Maclay  made  the  bound- 
ary line  between  the  two  purchases  in  1768.  Gabriel  settled  on  the 
site  of  Selinsgrove  in  1754.  His  location  was  surveyed  to  John 
Cox,  by  Mr.  Maclay,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1766;  but  Mr.  Maclay 
2 


i8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 

notes  on  his  return  to  the  Cox  warrant  that  Gabriel  had  made  a 
settlement  and  improvement  upon  it  at  least  ten  years  a^:;o,  and  that 
he  then  lived  on  and  claimed  the  property,  and  his  pretensions  must 
be  satisfied  by  Mr.  Cox  before  the  return  could  be  accepted.  In 
(piite  &  number  of  surveys  this  line  of  marked  trees  is  alhided  to ; 
and  Its  western  terminus,  on  Penn's  creek,  was  identified,  on  the 
25th  of  October,  1765,  by  William  Maclay,  when  he  surveyed  the 
"Henry  Christ"  tract,  (lately  owned  by  Leonard  App,)  at  the 
black  oak,  which,  he  says,  "was  made  a  corner  of  the  purchased 
lands  by  Gabriel  and  the  Indians,  say  both  Weiser  and  Gabriel." 

The  line  of  this  purchase  of  1758  was  the  line  between  Cmnber- 
land  and  Berks  counties,  within  Buffalo  Valley,  until  the  erection  of 
Northumberland  county,  out  of  Berks  and  other  counties,  in  1772, 
(when  Mahan tango  creek  became  the  north  line  of  Cumberland.) 
This  line,  as  stated,  ran  from  a  black  oak  that  stood  on  the  bank  of 
the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  one  mile  above  the 
mouth  of  Penn's  creek,  N.  45°  W.,  to  Buffalo  creek,  near  what  is 
now  Orwig's  mill,  in  Lewis  township;  thence  directly  west.  The 
settlers  north  of  this  line  were  assessed  in  Berks  county,  and  repaired 
to  Reading  to  attend  court ;  those  south  of  that  line  were  assessed 
in  Penn  township,  Cumberland  county,  and  attended  the  sessions 
at  Carlisle.  From  1772,  Sunbury  attracts  attention  as  the  seat  of 
justice  for  the  people  of  the  Valley,  until  the  erection  of  Union 
county,  March  22,  1813 — a  period  of  forty-one  years,  to  a  day — 
when  New  Berlin  became  the  county  seat,  holding  it  for  forty-two 
years;  when,  (March  2,  1855,)  by  the  erection  of  Snyder  county 
out  of  Union,  Lewisburg  became  the  political  center  of  the  terri- 
tory within  the  immediate  scope  of  these  Annals. 

(i  760.)  A  letter  from  Governor  James  Hamilton,  dated  November 
15,  1760,  to  Richard  Peters,  Esquire,  incloses  a  rough  draft;  show- 
ing the  mountains  north  of  the  Valley,  Buffalo  creek,  Penn's  creek, 
the  North  and  West  Branches,  and  main  river  down  to  Gabriel's, 
(whose  place  is  marked  at  the  mouth  of  Penn's  creek,)  Shamokin 
creek,  Shamokin  marked  between  it  and  the  North  Branch  and  Chil- 
liscjuaque  creek.  The  space  included  within  a  dotted  line  running 
from  the  mouth  of  Pniffixlo  creek  down  to  a  point  opposite  the  mouth 
of  the  Chillisquaciue,  thence  in  a  semi-circle  to  a  point  on  Buffalo 
creek,  six  or  eight  miles  above  its  mouth,  is  marked  "  Manor." 


INTRODUCTION.  ig 


The  letter  states:  "Abel  James  and  two  others  of  the  Friendly 
Association  have  been  with  me,  and  delivered  me  the  inclosed  plot 
of  lands  about  Shamokin,  and  particularly  of  the  Manor,  which,  by 
Job  Chillaway's  information  and  description,  they  suppose  John 
Armstrong  to  have  lately  surveyed,  and  at  which  they  are  in  fear  the 
Indians  will  take  offense.  I  told  them  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  it, 
as  I  supposed  you  to  be,  from  what  you  said  to  me  yesterday,  but 
that  I  would  order  an  inquiry  to  be  made.  I,  therefore,  desire  that 
you  will  immediately  write  to  Mr.  Armstrong,  and  know  from  him 
what  truth  there  is  in  all  this,  what  it  is  he  has  actually  been  doing 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  by  what  authority,  and  require  his 
answer  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  I  think  it  also  advisable  that  you  should  see  Teedyuscung  before 
he  leaves  town,  apprise  him  of  this  report,  and  satisfy  him  that 
nothing  is  intended  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Indians  with  respect  to 
lands,  lest,  hearing  it  from  other  hands  on  his  return,  it  may  make 
impressions  on  him  and  other  Indians  to  our  disadvantage." 

Mr.  Peters  wrote  Mr.  Armstrong,  Philadelphia,  17th  November, 
1760  : 

"  Sir  :  Inclosed  is  a  letter  I  received  from  the  Governor,  with  a 
draught  of  a  pretended  survey  delivered  to  him  by  the  clerk  of  the 
Association  of  Friends  for  Indian  Affairs,  who  said  that  John  Chilla- 
way,  tl-ie  Indian,  who  was  with  you,  complained  that  the  lines  run 
into  the  land  not  yet  granted  by  the  Indians. 

"Be  pleased  to  send  to  the  Governor  a  letter  fully  explaining 
this  affair,  in  order  to  obviate  any  complaints  that  may  be  made, 
and  make  no  delay. 

"  It  is  proposed  that  the  west  line,  which  is  the  boundary  in  the 
proprietary  release  executed  at  Easton,  shall  be  run  by  the  surveyors 
on  behalf  of  the  Proprietaries,  and  by  a  deputation  of  Indians,  to  be 
appointed  at  the  next  public  Indian  treaty,  to  be  held  in  this  city, 
in  the  spring." 

The  above  allusion  to  Teedyuscung  will  be  understood  from  the 
following  information,  taken  from  "  The  Memorials  of  the  Moravian 
Church,"  edited  by  the  late  Reverend  William  C.  Reichel,  a  thorough 
investigator  and  the  best  authority  upon  the  history  of  the  Indians 
who  resided  within  our  state  :  ^ 

'  Reverend  Wniiam  C.  Reichel  born  at  Salem,  North  Carolina,  died  at  Bethlehem, 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


The  Lenape  or  Delawares,  although  under  the  power  of  the  Six 
Nations,  had  their  own  king.  AUummapees  held  this  position  as  early 
as  171S,  and  as  the  purchases  of  the  Proprietaries  forced  the  with- 
drawal of  the  tribes  from  the  Delaware,  he  removed,  in  1728,  from 
on  the  Delaware  to  Shamokin,  "which  is  eighty  miles  from  Tulpe- 
hocken,  and  the  residence  of  the  king  (AUummapees)  of  the  Dela- 
wares, and  of  the  Oneida  (Shikellimy)  viceroy.  The  latter  virtually 
maintains  the  balance  of  power  between  the  different  tribes  and  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  the  whites,  acting  as  agent  for  the  Iroquois 
confederacy  in  all  affairs  of  state  and  war." — Zinzendorf's  Narrative, 
dated  at  Shamokin,  September  29,  1742,  Reichel,  page  67.  (The 
year  1728  is,  no  doubt,  the  date  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  Muncys, 
"who  were  proverbially  impatient  of  the  white  man's  presence  in 
the  Indian  country,"  from  Buffalo  Valley,  and  their  removal  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Allegheny,  succeeded  by  the  straggling  Shaw- 
anese.)  In  July,  1739,  Richard  Penn  treated  with  deputies  of  "the 
Shawanese,  scattered  far  abroad  from  the  Great  Island  to  the  Alle- 
gheny." 

In  June,  1746,  Weiser  writes  that  AUummapees  has  no  successor 
of  his  relatives,  and  will  hear  of  none  as  long  as  he  is  alive.  Shi- 
kellimy advises  that  the  Government  should  name  a  successor,  and 
set  him  up  by  their  authority;  that  he  has  lost  his  senses,  and  is  in- 
capable of  doing  anything.  AUummapees  is  dead,  writes  Weisei"  to 
Peters,  in  1747.  Lapappiton  is  allowed  to  be  the  fittest  to  succeed 
him,  but  he  declines.  Finally,  Teedyuscung  was  made  king  of  the 
Delawares,  in  the  spring  of  1756.  He  had  his  headquarters  in 
iy57_8,  at  Teedyuscung's  town,  (a  little  below  the  site  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,)  marked  Wioming  on  Scull's  map  of  1759.  Here  he  was 
burned  in  his  lodge,  on  the  night  of  the  19th  of  April,  i  763,  and  hence 
the  Delaware's  fled,  in  October  of  the  same  year,  after  having  struck 
the  last  blow  for  the  possession  of  the  "  Great  Plains,"  on  the  15th 
of  the  month,  when  they  fell  upon  the  Connecticut  settlers. 

Reichel  differs  from  Loskiel  as  to  the  date,  before  quoted,  of  Shi- 
kcllimy's  tleath,  and  places  it  on  the  17th  of  December,  1748,  and 
adds,  that  his  son  Logan,  returned  home  from  a  far  off  journey  sev- 

Pcnnsylvaiiia,  Wednesday,  October  2.'),  1876,  Atnt  53.  "Murmuring  of  the  Rock  of 
A  nee.  lie  i)!i.><8cil  si  way  iiuietly  as  an  infant  falls  asleep."  He  was  i)rofessor  in  the 
Moravian  Theological  Seminary,  a  ripe  scholar,  an  indefatigable  stu<lent,  and,  in  the 
language  of  John  .7 ordan,  junior.  Esquire,  his  decease  an  irreparable  loss. 


INTR  OD  UCriON. 


eral  days  after  his  decease,  to  weep  over  the  hfeless  body  of  a  parent 
he  so  much  esteemed.  The  brethren,  Zeisberger  and  Henry  Fry, 
made  him  a  coffin,  and  the  Indians  having  painted  the  corpse  in  gay 
colors,  and  decked  it  with  tlie  choicest  ornaments,  carried  the  re- 
mains of  their  honored  chieftain  to  the  burial  place  of  his  fathers, 
on  the  banks  of  the  "winding  river."  He  was  succeeded  in  his 
vicegerency  by  his  eldest  son,  Tachnachdoarus,  "  a  spreading  oak," 
alias  John  Shikellimy.  His  second  son  was  James  Logan,  named 
for  Secretary  Logan,  of  Germantown.  Logan  was  lame.  John 
Petty  was  the  youngest  of  the  three  brothers,  and  bore  the  name  of 
an  Indian  trader. 


^^ 

?P^ 

ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


1>76§. 


Penn  Township  Skttlers — William  Gill — Murder  of  White  Mingo — 
William  Blytiie — Purchase  of  1768. 

HE  following  list  of  inhabitants  of  Penn  township,  Cum- 
berland county,  is  taken  from  the  original  assessments 
at  Carlisle,  Penn  township  then  embracing  nearly  all  of 
what  is  now  Snyder  county  :  John  Aumiller,  Philip  Au- 
miller,  William  Blythe,  Jacob  Carpenter,  George  Drowner,  Adam 
Ewig,  George  Gabriel,  Jacob  Hammersly,  John  Lee,  Arthur  Moody, 
Michael  Regar,  George  Rine,  John  Reighbough,  junior  and  senior, 
Michael  Rodman,  Casper  Reed,  Frederick  Stump,  (who  is  taxed 
with  one  negro,)  Peter  Straub,  Adam  Stephen,  and  Andrew  Shafer. 
The  freemen  are  John  McCormick,  William  Gill,  Edward  Lee,  and 
Joseph  Reynolds. 

Of  these  early  settlers  I  can  fix  the  locality  of  but  ^qw.  Wil- 
liam Blythe  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Middle  creek  ;  Adam  Ewig  on  the 
creek  just  above  App's  mill ;  George  Gabriel  on  the  site  of  Selins- 
grove ;  Frederick  Stump  where  Middleburg  now  stands ;  Peter 
Straub  at  Straubstown  ;  William  Gill  on  Tuscarora  creek,  not  far 
from  New  Berlin.  The  latter  came  originally  from  Bucks  county. 
Belonging  to  a  regiment  in  Forbes'  campaign,  he  was  wounded  in 
the  leg  in  Grant's  defeat,  September  14,  1758,  or  in  the  attack  on 

2J 


24  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1768. 

Bouquet's  camp,  at  Loyalhanna,  and  made  for  home,  through  the 
woods,  with  a  bullet  in  his  leg.  He  lived  mostly  on  wild  grass  on 
the  way.  Reaching  Penn's  creek,  he  stopped,  married  a  German 
woman  there,  and  settled.  He  served  in  Captain  Clarke's  company 
the  winter  of  1776-7,  and  when,  during  the  war  of  181 2,  one  of 
his  sons  was  drafted,  and  for  some  reason  could  not  go,  the  old 
man  went  with  him  to  Sunbury,  and  asked  to  be  substituted  for  his 
son.  The  board  rewarded  his  patriotism  by  discharging  his  son. 
He  died  in  Beaver  townshii),  about  the  year  1820,  leaving  a  large 
family  of  boys.  His  grandson  Jacob  was  a  member  of  Captain 
Middleswarth's  company,  in  181 4,  and  now  resides  about  two  miles 
from  Bellefonte,  (1877.)  I  am  indebted  for  these  facts  to  William 
Gill,  nephew  of  William,  senior,  who  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety 
years,  had  a  remarkable  recollection  of  dates  and  events,  which  I 
have  frequently  verified  by  old  papers  and  assessments.  He  died 
at  Bellefonte,  November  21,  1876. 

Murder  of  White  Mingo. 

Sunday,  loth  of  January,  occurred  the  murder  of  White  Mingo 
and  five  other  Indians,  by  Frederick!  Stump.  The  information  of 
William  Blythe,  made  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  19th  of  January, 
is  in  substance,  that,  hearing  of  the  murder,  he  went  to  George 
Gabriel's,  where  he  met  Stump  and  several  others,  on  the  12th,  and 
was  then  told  by  Stump  himself  that  six  Indians,  White  Mingo,  Cor- 
nelius, John  Campbell,  Jones,  and  two  women,  came  to  his  house, 
near  the  mouth  of  Middle  creek.  Being  drunk  and  disorderly,  he 
endeavored  to  get  them  to  leave,  which  they  would  not  do.  Fear- 
ing injury  to  himself,  he  killed  them  all,  dragged  them  to  the 
creek,  and  making  a  hole  in  the  ice,  threw  in  their  bodies.  Then 
fearing  the  news  might  be  carried  to  the  other  Indians,  he  went  the 
next  day  to  two  cabins,  fourteen  miles  up  the  creek,  where  he  found 
one  woman  and  two  girls,  with  one  child.  These  he  killed,  and 
putting  their  bodies  into  the  cabin,  he  burned  it.  That  he  (Blythe) 
sent  foyr  men  up  the  creek,  who  reported  that  they  had  found  the 
cabins  burned,  and  the  remains  of  the  limbs  of  the  Indians  in  the 
ashes.  The  scene  of  the  latter  deed  was  on  the  run  that  enters  the 
creek  at  Middleburg,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Stump's  run  to  this 


1768.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  25 

day.  Stump  and  his  companion,  Iron-Cutter,  were  arrested  at 
Gabriel's,  and  taken  to  Carlisle  jail.  They  were  forcibly  rescued  on 
the  29th,  were  concealed  about  Fort  Augusta  a  few  days,  and  then 
fled  the  country.  Tradition  has  it,  that  Stump  died  in  Virginia, 
many  years  afterwards. 

For  William  Blythe's  services  in  this  matter,  he  received  the  two 
tracts  of  land  which  were  surveyed  on  applications  in  the  names  of 
his  daughters,  Margaret  and  Elizabeth,  containing,  together,  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  lying  immediately  south  of  White  Deer 
creek,  whither  he  removed  during  the  year,  and  was,  therefore,  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Buffalo  Valley  after  the  purchase.  He  was  an 
Indian  trader  at  Shippensburg  in  1748,  and  a  lieutenant  in  the 
,  French  war,  1758. 

His  cabin  stood  on  Red-Bank  run,  near  the  river,  on  the  Eliza- 
beth Blythe  tract,  below  the  late  Samuel  Henderson's  house.  Her 
application  of  3d  April,  1769,  describes  it  as  including  an  old  Indian 
fort  and  a  settlement  begun  by  her.  William  Blythe  lived  to  be  a 
very  old  man.  Roley  McCorley  informed  me  he  knew  him  well, 
and  that  he  was  a  tall,  raw-boned  man,_  and,  in  latter  years,  quite 
blind. 

His  daughter  Margaret  married  Captain  John  Reed,  who  had 
commanded  the  "  Paxton  Boys."  Her  tract  was  patented  to  Cap- 
tain Reed  in  1774.  Her  children  by  Captain  Reed  were  William, 
(father  of  James  Reed,  who  still  resides  near  Hartleton,  and  grand- 
father of  Doctor  Uriah  Reed,  of  Jersey  Shore,  and  of  Robert  Reed, 
now  of  Clearfield,  Pennsylvania,)  James,  who  moved  west,  and 
Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Armstrong.  Captain  Reed  died  before 
1778,  and,  with  '-'the  Runaway"  of  that  year,  the  Reeds  went  to 
Cumberland  county.  William  Reed's  family  remained  there  until 
some  years  after,  when  he  came  up  and  settled  in  Hartley  township. 
Captain  Reed's  widow  married  Captain  Charles  Gillespie,  an  officer 
of  the  Revolution,  and  raised  a  second  family — Edward  Gillespie, 
Susanna,  (married  to  Arthur  Thomas,)  Eleanor,  Charles,  junior, 
Thomas,  and  John.  By  a  division  of  the  place,  the  lower  half,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six  acres,  fell  to  Charles  Gillespie  and  wife,  the 
upper  to  the  Reeds,  who  conveyed  it,  on  the  6th  of  May,  1796,  to 
Gillespie  and  wife.  The  Gillespies  all  went  west,  except  Edward, 
who  hung  himself,  many  years  ago,  at  the  old  homestead,  which 


26  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1768. 

passed  into  the  hands  of  the  late  Daniel  Ludwig,  Esquire.  Marga- 
ret Blythe  survived  the  fortunes  of  her  second  family,  and  took 
refuge  with  her  first  husband's  children.  She  died  at  her  son's,  Wil- 
liam Reed,  in  Hartley  township,  and  her  remains  were  interred  in 
the  graveyard  at  Kester's  school-house. 

Elizabeth  Blythe  married  Doctor  Joseph  Eakers,  who  had  been  a 
surgeon  in  the  revolutionary  army. ^  In  October,  1798,  they  sold 
the  place  to  James  Hepburn,  and  went  West,  where  she  died.  The 
Doctor  returned,  resumed  practice,  and  was  drowned  in  Muddy 
run,  above  Milton,  many  years  ago. 

5  th  November.  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn  purchased  from  the 
Six  Nations,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  (now  Rome,  New  York,)  the  remain- 
der of  the  Valley  whose  annals  we  are  writing.  As  one  of  the 
incentives  to  this  purchase,  I  may  state  that,  as  early  as  the  year 
1764,  the  officers  of  the  first  and  second  battalions  who  served  under 
Colonel  Bouquet,  made  an  agreement  with  each  other,  in  writing, 
at  Bedford,  "  that  they  would  apply  to  the  Proprietaries  for  a  tract 
of  land  sufficiently  extensive  and  conveniently  situated,  whereon  to 
erect  a  compact  and  defensible  town ;  and,  also,  to  accommodate 
each  of  us  with  a  reasonable  and  commodious  plantation  ;  which 
land  and  lots  of  ground,  if  obtained,  we  do  agree  shall  be  propor- 
tionably  divided,  according  to  our  several  ranks  and  subscriptions," 
&:c.  Signed  by  Lieutenant  Colonels  Turbutt  Francis  and  Asher 
Clayton,  Major  John  P.  deHaas,  Captains  Jacob  Kern,  John  Proc- 
ter, James  Hendricks,  John  Brady,  William  Piper,  Timothy  Green, 
Samuel  Hunter;  Henry  Watson,  adjutant  first  battalion;  Conrad 
Bucher,  adjutant  second  battalion ;  William  Plunket  and  James 
Irvine,  captains  ;  Lieutenant  Daniel  Hunsicker  ;  Ensigns  McMeen 
and  Piper,  et  al.  They  appointed  Colonel  Francis,  Captain  Irvine, 
&c.,  Gommissioners  to  act  for  all  the  officers.  These  commissioners 
made  an  application  to  the  Proprietaries  on  the  30th  of  April,  1765, 
in  which  they  proposed  to  embody  themselves  in  a  compact  settle- 
ment, on  some  good  land,  at  some  distance  from  the  inhabited  part 
of  the  Province,  where,  by  their  industry,  they  might  procure  a 
comfortable  subsistence  for  themselves,  and  by  their  arms,  union, 
and  increase,  become  a  powerful  barrier  to    the  Province.     They 

'  In  a  petition  to  the  Executive  Council,  dated  February  15, 1779,  he  states  that 
he  had  been  a  long  time  surgeon's  mate  In  the  hospital  department. 


1769.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  27 

further  represented  that  the  land  already  purchased  did  not  afford 
any  situation  convenient  for  their  purpose ;  but  the  confluence  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  Susquehanna  at  Shamokin  did,  and  they, 
therefore,  prayed  the  Proprietaries  to  make  the  purchase,  and  make 
them  a  grant  of  forty  thousand  acres  of  arable  land  on  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna.  Lieutenant  Thomas  Wiggins  and  En- 
sign J.  Foster,  who  were  absent  from  Bedford  when  the  agreement 
was  signed,  were  subsequently  admitted  into  the  association.  The 
minutes  of  the  association  are  published  in  full  in  the  first  volume 
of  the  Collections  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


1^69. 


Officials — First  Surveys  in  the  Valley — John  Ewing,  tt  al — Officers' 
Surveys — OriCxIxal  Settlers. 

OVERNOR,  JOHN  PENN.     Representative  of  Berks, 
Edward  Biddle;  Sheriff,  Jacob  Shoemaker. 

Representatives  of  Cumberland,  William  Allen  and 
^  John  Montgomery;   Sheriff,  David   Hoge;    Prothono- 
tary,  Hermanns  Alricks. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  the  commissioners  of  the  officers  of  the 
first  and  second  battalions  met  at  the  Governor's,  and  obtained  an 
order  allowing  them  to  take  up  twenty-four  thousand  acres,  -to  be 
divided  among  them  in  distinct  surveys,  on  the  waters  of  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  each  three  hundred  acres  to  be  seated 
with  a  family  within  two  years  from  the  time  of  survey,  paying  ^5 
sterling  per  hundred,  and  one  penny  per  acre,  &c.  The  names  of 
the  officers  in  whose  favor  the  order  of  survey  issued  were  Colonel 
Francis,  Major  deHaas,  Captains  Irvine,  Plunket,  Hunter,  Kern, 
Green,  Houssegger,  Sems,  Hendricks,  Brady,  Piper,  Bucher,  Lieu- 
tenants, Stewart,  Wiggins,  Hays,  Nice,  Hunsicker,  Askey,  McAl- 


28  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1769. 

lister,  Ensigns  Piper,  McMeen,  Morrow,  Steine,  and  Foster;  and 
the  order  signed  by  John  Lukens,  surveyor  general,  and  directed  to 
William  Scull  and  William  Maclay. 

By  advertisement,  dated  the  23d  of  February,  the  land  office  was  to 
open  to  receive  applications  for  lands  in  the  "New  Purchase,"  on 
the  3d  of  April.  "So  long  a  day  was  fixed  to  give  the  back  in- 
habitants time  to  repair  to  the  office."  Meanwhile  surveys  were 
made  on  special  orders  for  the  Proprietaries  or  their  friends. 

On  the  1 8th  of  February,  William  Maclay  made  the  first  survey 
in  person  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  His  field  notes  are  yet  pre- 
served among  the  records  of  the  deputy  surveyor's  office  of  Union 
county.  He  began  at  a  black  oak  on  the  river,  afterwards  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  Richard  Manning  tract,  and  ran  S.  60°  W.  70, 
W.  212,  S.  45°  W.  755,  S.  49°  E.  295,  to  the  black  oak  or  Spanish 
oak  on  the  river,  on  the  line  of  the  purchase  or  Gabriel's  land;  thence 
up  the  river  N.  36°  E.  51,  N.  45°  E.  233^,  N.  39°  E.  462,  and  N. 
261^°  E.  220,  to  the  place  of  beginning.  He  says  this  survey  is  of 
land  above  George  Gabriel's,  for  which  Andrew  Allen  has  a  warrant, 
and  on  which  Charles  Willing  intends  an  old  right  of  five  hun- 
dred acres,  "neither  of  which  are  in  my  hands  yet."  The  next  day, 
Sunday,  the  19th,  he  says  he  received  from  Colonel  Francis  the 
Charles  Willing  location.  The  caveat,  Willing  vs.  Allen,  was  de- 
termined on  the  2 1  St  of  December,  1772,  by  the  board  of  property. 
Present,  Mr.  Tilghman,  Hockley,  Physick,  and  Lukens.  "That  the 
location  on  the  warrant  of  Charles  Willing  (which  bore  date  the  24th 
December,  1768)  is  such  an  appropriation  of  five  hundred  acres 
and  allowance,  that  it  was  not  liable  to  the  Proprietaries'  warrant," 
and  they  directed  the  surveyor  general  to  divide  the  land  by  a  line 
N.  49°  W.  from  the  river,  so  as  to  leave  five  hundred  acres  of  the 
lower  end  to  be  returned  for  Willing.  This  division  line  is  about 
where  the  present  road  running  west  from  Hettrick's  store,  in  Mon- 
roe township,  Snyder  county,  is  laid. 

The  distance  of  the  river  line  of  the  John  Cox  survey,  (which  in- 
cluded Gabriel's  settlement,)  from  the  mouth  of  Penn's  creek  to  the 
Indian  line,  was  two  hundred  and  ninty-two  perches;  of  the  Richard 
Willing,  from  the  black  oak  or  Spanish  oak,  marked  by  Gabriel  and 
the  Indians,  to  a  white  oak,  which  stood  on  the  river  bank  near  Het- 
trick's store,  was  two  hundred  and  ninty-five  and  one  half  perches. 


1769.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


zg 


The  Andrew  Allen  reached  thence  six  hundred  and  seventy-one 
perches,  to  a  black  oak  which  stood  below  the  Sunbury  ferry,  nearly 
opposite  the  old  tavern.  The  Richard  Manning  survey  (made  in 
1770)  extended  up  one  hundred  and  fifty  perches  to  a  maple,  where 
began  the  John  Galloway,  which  ran  up  three  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  perches,  to  the  confluence  of  the  West  Branch.  I  will  here 
add,  as  having  interest  upon  the  question  of  the  location  of  Fort 
Augusta,  that  a  topographical  survey  found  among  the  same  papers 
of  this  date,  has  a  station  on  the  mouth  of  the  little  stream  that  enters 
the  river  below  the  present  bridge.  The  course  to  the  main  point  is 
N.  27°  E.  and  S.  53^^°  E.  to  the  "  redoubt  at  Fort  Augusta." 

The  survey  next  above  the  "  Galloway,"  is  the  Daniel  Hoffman, 
(181 4,)  extending  one  hundred  and  eighteen  perches;  then  comes 
the  Joshua  McAfee,  (the  John  INIason  place,)  surveyed  in  1771, 
extending  up  sixty-eight  perches,  and  we  are  in  Buffalo  Valley. 

2 2d  February,  the  Reverend  John  Ewing's  survey  was  made; 
the  first  in  the  Valley.  It  extends  from  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek, 
six  hundred  and  seventy-five  perches,  to  a  walnut  that  formerly 
stood  on  Doctor  Dougal's  line.  Mr.  Maclay's  starting  point  for 
this  survey  was  sixty  or  seventy  rods  above  the  present  site  of  the 
iron  bridge  across  Buffalo  creek.  This  survey  contained  eleven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres. 

24th  February,  Mr.  Maclay  surveyed  the  Bremmer  tract  for 
John  Penn.  He  notes  in  his,  field-book  the  fine  spring  at  late  An- 
drew Wolfe's,  the  one  on  the  Cameron  farm,  and  the  one  at  Ellis 
Brown's,  and  leaves  out  "the  pine  barrens,"  as  he  calls  the  present 
Linn  place.  This  tract  contained  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
thirty-four  acres,  and  was  called  the  "  fiddler's  tract,"  tradition  said, 
because  given  a  fiddler  for  one  night's  performance  on  the  violin. 
Bremmer  was  a  music  dealer  in  the  Strand,  London,  and  was,. per- 
haps, a  fiddler  by  occupation. 

28th  February,  the  site  of  Lewisburg  was  surveyed  for  the  Pro- 
prietaries, by  Mr.  Maclay,  commencing  nt  a  white  oak,  at  the 
present  Strohecker's  landing.  At  sixty-eight  perches  he  notes  the 
spring  now  belonging  to  the  University  grounds.  This  line  he  makes 
one  mile  long,  to  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek ;  he  then  ran  up  the 
creek  to  a  hickory  that  stood  where  the  present  road  reaches  the 
creek  at  the  iron  bridge  ;   thence  he  ran  due  south,  two  hundred  and 


JO  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1769. 

eight  perches,  to  a  pine,  the  stump  of  which  was  dug  up  when  the 
railroad  excavation  was  made  north  of  the  Eighth  Street  school-build- 
ing ;  (it  stood  some  eight  feet  inside  of  Jacob  Derr's  fence  ;)  thence 
he  ran  S.  50°  E.,  two  hundred  and  ninety-eight  perches,  to  the  river. 
Several  of  the  latter  line  trees  stand  near  the  cemetery.  These  lines 
now  mark  the  limits  of  the  borough,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jacob 
Spidler  place,  which  was  taken  out  of  the  borough  many  years  ago 
by  act  of  the  Legislature. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February  many  of  the  officers  of  the  first  and 
second  battalions  met  at  Fort  Augusta,  and  agreed  to  take  the  land 
upon  the  terms  proposed  by  the  Proprietaries,  and  that  one  of  the 
tracts  should  be  surveyed  on  tlie  West  Branch,  adjoining  Montour's 
place,  (Chillisquaque  creek,)  and  one  in  Buffalo  Valley.  In  order  to 
expedite  business,  it  was  agreed  that  Captains  Plunket,  Brady, 
Piper,  and  Lieutenant  Askey,  should  go  along  with  Mr.  Maclay  to 
Buffalo  Valley,  and  Captains  Hunter  and  Irvine  with  Mr.  Scull,  to 
direct  the  survey  in  the  Forks. 

On  the  ist,  2d,  and  3d  of  March,  Samuel  Maclay,  for  William,  ran 
out  the  officers'  survey.  He  commenced  at  a  white  oak  on  now 
William  Spotts'  land,  at  the  east  of  the  Limestone  ridge,  and  ran 
west  and  south-west  to  the  east  line  of  what  is  now  William  Young's 
land,  in  Lewis  township.  The  western  line  he  ran  N.  318  to  Buffalo 
creek ;  thence  he  ran  north  of  the  present  turnpike,  until  he  crossed 
its  site  a  little  east  of  Vicksburg,  and  came  back  to  a  white  oak,  yet 
standing,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  rods  east  of  where  Salem 
church  is  now ;  thence  he  ran  south  to  an  elm  on  Turtle  creek,  and 
west  and  south-west  to  the  place  of  beginning.  This  survey  em- 
braced the  heart  of  Buffalo  Valley,  and,  as  their  minutes  say,  "  was 
made  without  opposition ;"  and  the  officers  returned  to  Fort  Augusta, 
held  a  meeting,  and  determined  that  the  third  tract  of  eight  thou- 
sanfl  acres  should  be  surveyed  on  Bald  Eagle  creek.  Captains 
Hunter,  Brady,  and  Piper  were  appointed  to  over-see  that  survey, 
to  be  made  by  Charles  Lukens.  The  record  says  that  Colonel 
Francis,  Doctor  Plunket,  and  Major  deHaas,  furnished  the  stores 
on  the  present  occasion. 

1 6th  May,  The  officers  met  at  Harris'  Ferry.  Messrs.  Maclay, 
Scull,  and  Lukens  laid  before  them  the  drafts  of  their  respective  sur- 
veys.     Mr.  Maclay  reported  the  tract  surveyed  l)y  him  in  Buffalo 


1769.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  31 

Valley  contained  eight  thousand  acres  ;  Mr.  Scull  that  in  the  Forks, 
six  thousand  and  ninety-six,  which  left  nine  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  four  for  Bald  Eagle  creek,  and  Mr.  Lukens'  survey  was  several 
thousand  acres  short  of  the  quantity.  They  agreed  then  that  Colonel 
Francis  should  receive  his  share,  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres,  surveyed  to  him  in  one  tract,  adjoining  the  tract 
purchased  by  him  of  Montour.  Colonel  Francis'  tract  accordingly 
extended  from  Chillisquaque  creek  down  to  and  included  Northum- 
berland point.  Boyd  and  Wilson  purchased  of  him,  and  erected 
the  mill  at  the  mouth  of  Chillisquaque  creek,  in  1791,  and  John 
Lowdon  bought  the  site  of  Northumberland  town  from  Colonel 
Francis,  and  it  was  patented  to  his  wife,  Sarah  Lowdon,  7th  July, 
1770.  Same  day,  i6th  of  May,  lots  were  drawn  for  the  choice  of 
lands.  Captain  Hendricks,  having  won  the  first  choice,  took  the 
eastern  end  of  Buffalo  Valley  survey,  now  the  Zellers,  Aurands,  &c., 
farms.  Captain  William  Plunket  then  chose  the  Dreisbach  place, 
site  of  the  church,  &c.  Captain  Brady  the  Maclay  place  afterwards, 
now  Joseph  Green's,  William  Cameron,  Esquire's,  &c.  Captain 
Kern  next  took  the  site  of  Vicksburg.  Lieutenant  Doctor  Thomas 
Wiggins  got  three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  acres.  Doctor  Wiggins 
resided  in  Lower  Paxton  township,  now  Dauphin  county.  By  his 
will,  proved  August  31,  1798,  he  devised  to  his  brother,  John  Wig- 
gins, his  land  in  Northumberland  county ;  and  by  the  will  of  John 
Wiggins,  second,  proved  November  30,  he  devises  it  to  John  and 
James  Wiggins  Simonton,  each  one  hundred  and  ten  acres.  Hon- 
orable John  W.  Simonton  many  years  associate  judge  of  Union 
county,  still  owns  this  military  fief.  Reverend  Captain  Conrad 
Bucher  secured  the  tract  now  owned  by  the  Pontius's ;  Captain 
Timothy  Green  the  site  of  the  Rockey  mill ;  Lieutenant  Askey  the 
site  of  Mififlinburg ;  Captain  Irvine  the  place  so  long  owned  by  the 
Kleckners;  Lieutenant  Stewart  the  old  Foster  place;  and  Lieuten- 
ant McAllister  the  old  John  Hayes  place.  Captains  Plunket  and 
Brady  superintended  the  running  of  the  division  lines,  which  was 
accomplished  by  Samuel  Maclay,  on  the  25th,  26th,  27th,  and  28th 
of  May. 

The  John  Ewing  survey  was  made  on  the  3d  of  March,  extend- 
ing from  the  east  line  of  the  officers'  survey,  down  Turtle  creek,  to 


32  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1769 

the  Gundy  farm.     These  are  the  leading  surveys,  run  with  astonish- 
ing accuracy,  and  well  marked  all  around. 

The  John  Harris  surveys,  from  Jacob  M.  Shively's,  near  White 
spring,  up  to  and  including  Esquire  Lincoln's  farm,  were  also  upon 
special  warrants,  before  the  opening  of  the  land  office.  They  were 
made  on  the  23d  of  February.  The  walnut,  the  beginning  point, 
stood  on  Penn's  creek,  below  the  mouth  of  White  Spring  run. 
John  Harris  had  bought,  as  stated  before,  the  improvement  made 
by  Turner  in  1755.  He  also  owned  the  Edward  Lee,  the  White 
Spring  tract,  the  improvement  title  of  which  also  dated  back  to 
1755  ;  both  re-surveyed,  however,  by  Mr.  Maclay,  in  February,  1769. 
He  was  the  father-in-law  of  William  Maclay,  and  was  favored  by 
the  Proprietaries  in  consequence  of  his  services  with  the  Indians. 

On  the  3d  of  April  the  land  office  was  opened,  and  a  great  crowd 
attended.  Numerous  applications  or  locations,  as  they  were  called, 
were  received  for  the  same  spots  of  land,  from  different  persons, 
under  various  or  similar  descriptions.  The  method  taken  to  decide 
the  preference  was  to  put  them  all  into  a  trunk,  and  after  mixing  them 
well  together,  an  indifferent  person  drew  them  out,  and  they  were 
numbered  in  the  order  of  drawing,  priority  thus  being  determined 
by  lottery.  To  illustrate  by  example :  there  were  numerous  applica- 
tions for  the  old  Muncy  town  or  Shikellimy's  town  tract.  Michael 
Weyland's  was  the  thirty-second  application  drawn,  and  so  numbered, 
and  put  down  on  the  list.  Any  subsequent  application  descriptive  of 
the  same  locality  was,  when  opened  and  read,  laid  aside.  Jacob 
Weyland's  application  for  land,  "on  a  run  of  water  adjoining 
Michael  Weyland's  at  Shikellimy's  town,"  was  the  sixth  drawn.  John 
Grove  now  owns  part  of  that  warrantee  tract.  Dietrick  Rees'  appli- 
cation for  land,  "on  a  run  below  Dog  run,  adjoining  land  of  Lud- 
wig  Derr,  in  Walnut  bottom,"  came  out  the  eighth.  It  embraces 
New  Columbia,  and  the  land  north  and  west  of  it.  Derr  seems  to 
have  marked  out  a  claim  for  himself,  near  New  Columbia,  before 
the  drawing,  which  he  failed  to  get. 

In  August,  the  greater  part  of  the  surveys  on  the  north  side  of  Buf- 
falo creek  were  made,  from  Colonel  Slifer's  place  up  to  Farmersville, 
together  with  most  of  the  surveys  in  Buffalo  and  the  Lowdon  sur- 
veys in  West  Buffalo.  Those  along  the  river,  down  to  Turtle  creek, 
also  in  August.     From  thence  to  the  county  line  below,  in  October. 


1769.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  jj 

The  surveys  from  Doctor  Dougal's  place  up  to  tlie  mouth  of  White 
Deer  creek,  along  the  river,  were  made  by  Charles  Lukens,  in  October. 
He  speaks  in  his  iield  notes  of  Ludwig  Derr  being  with  him.  Along 
Penn's  creek,  above  and  including  the  mouth  of  Switzer  run,  the  sur- 
veys were  made  in  August.  In  November,  William  Maclay  made  sur- 
veys of  some  of  the  best  land  in  the  Valley,  including  Ray's  church, 
John  and  Isaac  Reish's  land,  in  which  he  was  interested.  Colonel 
Kelly's  tracts  were  also  surveyed  in  August.  In  December,  Samuel 
Maclay  surveyed  the  lands  in  Dry  valley,  now  owned  by  Isaac  Eyer,. 
David  Gross,  &c. 

The  settlers  this  year,  as  far  as  I  can  ascertain  them,  were  John  Lee, 
at  the  spring  near  the  stone  barn  at  Winfield;  John  Beatty,  at  the 
spring  near  New  Berlin ;  Jacob  Grozean,  near  Hoffa's  mill ;  Barney 
Parson,  at  the  old  Iddings  place;  John  Wilson,^  at  Jenkin's  mill; 
Adam  Haines,  on  the  McCorley  place,  White  Deer.  William  Blythe's 
cabin  is  marked  on  a  survey  made  24th  October j  as  standing  twenty- 
five  rods  from  the  river,  on  the  little  run  above  the  Ard  place.  Joseph 
McLaughlin  had  an  improvement  on  White  Deer  creek,  west  of 
Blythe's,  and  one  Bennett  had  a  cabin  on  White  Deer  creek,  about  one 
mile  above  the  cotton  factory.  John  Fisher  took  up  the  place  now 
known  as  Datesman's,  West  Milton,  and  settled  upon  it.  Michael 
Weyland  the  George  F.  Miller  place.  William  Armstrong  lived 
where  the  road  comes  out  to  the  old  ferry,  below  New  Columbia. 
James  Parr  commenced  an  improvement  on  the  same  tract,  a  little 
above,  and  they  agreed  to  divide  the  land,  Armstrong  to  fill  up  his 
application  by  taking  more  land  in  the  rear.  Iji  doing  so,  he  en- 
croached on  the  Earnest  Burke,  a  tract  belonging  to  Hawkins  Boone. 
Hence  a  law  suit  reported  in  2  Binn.,  55. 

'  John  Wilson  died  in  1774.  He  was  the  father  of  Thomas  Wilson,  afterwards  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Erie  county,  and  of  Mrs.  David  M.ead,  (of  Meadville.)  Sanfor.d's. 
Erie,  page  220. 


i^^o. 


Early  Surveys — Settlers  from  Paxton — Scull's  Map. 


OHN  PENN,  Governor.     Ofificials  the  same  as  in  1769. 
May  21,  Turbutt  Francis,  Esquire,  appointed  Prothon- 
otary  of  Cumberland  county,  vice  H.  Alricks,  resigned. 
The  following  notices  of  settlers  are  derived  from  old 
conveyances  and  notes  of  surveyors : 

As  early  as  the  28th  of  March,  John  Buchanan  and  his  father  re- 
sided on  the  Richard  Edwards  tract,  where  Stoltzfus  now  lives.  By 
a  lease,  dated  that  day,  he  agreed  with  Thomas  Lemmon  and  Sarah, 
his  wife,  to  build  .a  log  house,  eighteen  by  twenty,  thereon,  clear  and 
fence  ten  acres  of  field,  two  of  meadow,  plant  ten  apple  and  twenty 
cherry  trees,  &c. 

Jacob  Fought  l)ought  of  Captain  Timotliy  Green  two  hundred 
and  sixteen  acres  at  the  mouth  of  Cedar  run,  including  the  forks  of 
Buffalo  creek,  the  Rockey  mill  site,  and  moved  there.  23d  March, 
James  Wilson  surveyed  the  George  Palmer  tract,  embracing  Win- 
field,  for  John  Lee.  He  speaks  of  commencing  at  Lee's  spring, 
and  running  S.  40°,  E.  53,  to  an  ash  at  the  river,  and  thence,  by 
the  back  side  of  Lee's  fields,  N.  40°  W.  This  explains  the  corner 
left  out  of  the  Craig  survey  below,  and  shows  that  Lee  had  cleared 
the  fields  where  Thomas  Pursel  now  lives  as  early  as  the  4th  of 
October,  1769,  when  Craig's  survey  was  made.  The  first  regular 
clearing,  perhaps,  in  the  Valley,  and  its  exact  locality  is  thus  iden- 
tified. In  May,  Wilson  surveyed  the  addition  to  David  Moore, 
along  Buffalo  creek,  now  A.  J.  Rishel's,  and  speaks  of  Hans  Fleming 

34 


1770.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  35 

living  in  there.  On  the  12th  of  May,  he  surveyed  the  Thomas 
Sutherland  place  in  Dry  valley,  where  Emerick's  family  was  after- 
wards captured.  He  says  "  this  land  Robert  King  has  bought,"  indi- 
catnig  the  residence  of  the  first  constable  of  Buffalo  township.  17th 
May  he  surveyed  the  John  Umstead  tract,  on  Stony  run,  which 
empties  into  Buffalo  creek,  east  of  the  mouth  of  Rapid  run.  On 
the  1 8th,  the  Peter  Horning,  where  Esquire  Sheckler  now  lives. 
This  land  was  afterwards  in  litigation  between  Christopher  Johnston 
and  Matthew  Irwin  for  over  thirty  years.  His  field  notes  explain 
the  origin  of  the  trouble.  He  commenced  at  an  ash,  (which  stood 
in  the  road  afterwards  laid  out,  nearly  in  front  of  Esquire  Sheckler's 
house,)  in  the  line  of  the  eight  hundred  tract  made  for  Foster  and 
Rees;  thence  ran  north  168,  to  a  black  oak  of  same,  (this  distance 
was  found  by  subsequent  surveys  to  be  one  hundred  and  eighty-two 
perches;)  and  thence,  by  an  old  Indian  cabin,  W.  74  to  a  maple; 
and  thence,  by  a  ridge,  crossing  a  run  at  seventy-two  perches,  N. 
78  to  a  hickory,  west  122  to  a  chestnut  oak,  and  by  a  ridge  S.  138 
to  a  Spanish  oak,  E.  80  to  a  white  oak,  and  by  a  ridge  S.  122  to  a 
white  oak,  (subsequent  surveys  made  this  distance  135.)  "  I  had  set 
the  course  east  from  this  white  oak,  and  at  54  I  intersected  a  line 
of  Doctor  Plunket's,  made  by  Samuel  Maclay,  which  I  found  ran 
north  and  south.  The  distance  between  two  black  oak  corners  was 
between  sixty  and  seventy  perches,  where,  I  made  a  halt,  and  left 
open  the  line  between  white  oak  and  ash  beginning."  Leaving  this 
line  open,  made  the  difficulty,  the  white  oak  having  disappeared. 

On  25th  of  September,  he  surveyed  for  John  Lee  the  small  thirty- 
eight  acre  tract,  at  Strohecker's  landing.  He  says  he  began  at  the 
white  oak  of  the  survey  Ludwig  Derr  lives  on;  thence  ran  N.  50°, 
W.  56,  &c.,  showing  that  Derr  then  lived  on  the  site  of  Levvisburg. 
I  found  Lee's  receipt  for  the  purchase  money  among  Youngman  and 
Walters'  papers,  who  lately  owned  the  place  where  Lee  was  killed 
by  the  Indians. 

Michael  Pfoutz  was  Wilson's  chain-carrier. 

Colonel  John  Kelly  at  this  time  lived  on  the  place  where  he  died, 
as  appears  by  Mr.  Wilson's  notes. 

In  an  assessment  for  the  year  1770,  of  Paxton  township,  now  Dau- 
phin county,  occur  the  names  of  Robert  Clark,  Walter  Clark,  Robert 
Fruit,  William  Maclay,  Matthew  Smith,  William  Plunket,  George 


3b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1771. 

Overmeier,  Michael  Troy,  William  Clark,  the  four  last  named  marked 
inmates,  indicating  either  a  widower  or  unmarried  man ;  and  in 
Middletown  we  find  the  name  of  Albright  Swineford,  all  prominent 
in  the  subsequent  annals. 

William  Scull's  map  of  date  April  4,  1770,  has  Mahantango  creek, 
Middle  creek,  Penn's  creek,  Turtle,  Buffalo,  and  White  Deer  creeks 
laid  down,  with  their  respective  names.  Reed's  residence  is  marked 
half-way  between  Mahantango  and  Penn's.  Gabriel's,  now  Selins- 
grove,  is  marked  "Cox's  borough."  Nittany  and  Jack's  mountains 
are  on,  with  these  respective  names,  but  he  has  a  range  of  mountains 
running  up  the  river  from  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek. 


\>l>(\. 


Great   Flood  — Penx    Township   Settlers  —  George    Gabriel  —  First 
Mills  Built — Dreisbacii's  Church — Michael  Weylaxd. 

ICHARD  PENN,  Lieutenant  Governor  from  October  16. 
Edward  Biddle  and   Henry  Christ,  Representatives  of 
Berks  county;    Sheriff,  George  Nagle.     William  Allen 
and  John  Montgomery,  Representatives  of  Cumberland ; 
Sheriff,  P^phraim  Blaine. 

9th  March,  the  Susquehanna  river,  Bald  Eagle  creek  up  to  Spring 
creek,  and  Penn's  creek,  for  twenty  miles  above  its  mouth,  were 
declared  public  highways.  John  Lowdon  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  for  making  them  navigable,      i  Smith's  Laws,  324. 

On  the  same  day,  the  officers  of  the  first  and  second  battalions 
held  another  meeting.  Charles  Lukens  reported  that  the  whole 
tract  surveyed  by  him  on  Bald  Eagle  creek  contained  only  eight 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  Avhich  is  fifteen  hundred 
and  twenty-four  acres  less  than  the  quantity  allowed  them.  He 
divided  the  Bald  Eagle  tract  into  twenty  shares,  the  last  of  which 


1771.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  37 

Lieutenant  Askey  got ;  so  that  Lieutenant  McAllister,  Ensign  Piper, 
Captain  Sems,  and  Captain  Kern  yet  lacked  their  shares.  Colonel 
Francis  then  said  that  a  grant  might  be  obtained  for  the  tract  of 
land  in  Buffalo  Valley  formerly  intended  to  be  located  by  Captain 
Plunket,  and  since  surveyed  for  the  Proprietaries,  containing  one 
thousand  and  five  acres.  Piper  was,  therefore,  given  lot  No.  6,  on 
Bald  Eagle,  surveyed  for  Ensign  Morrow,  who  was  excluded  from 
the  grant  by  the  Penns,  because  he  was  of  the  party  that  rescued 
Stump  and  Iron-Cutter,  the  murderers  of  the  Indians  on  Middle 
creek  ;  Captain  Kern,  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven  acres,  late  the 
Chamberlain  mill  tract,  in  Kelly,  now  Hoffa's;  Lieutenant  McAl- 
lister, two  hundred  and  ninety  acres,  late  Howard  farm,  adjoining 
the  above ;  and  Colonel  Francis,  for  Captain  Sems,  five  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  and  one  half  acres,  adjoining.  Colonel  Francis 
sold  the  latter  tract  to  William  Linn,  of  Lurgan  township,  Franklin 
county,  who  divided  it  among  his  children.  His  grandson,  W.  T. 
Linn,  still  owns  his  father's  share. 

Loskiel  mentions  that  in  the  spring  of  this  year  there  was  a  great 
flood  in  the  Susquehanna,  which  compelled  the  Indians  at  Wyoming 
to  leave  their  houses,  and  take  to  the  hills,  where  they  remained 
four  days. 

The  assessment  of  Penn's  township  contains  this  year  the  names 
of  the  following  additional  settlers  :  Frederick  Albright,  Thomas 
Allen,  Tobias  Bickle,  Henry  Bower,  Robert  Boyd,  Tobias  Bickle, 
junior,  Michael  Beidenbaugh,  William  Burchard,  Abraham  Billman, 
George  Bowerman,  Peter  Druckenmiller,  Widow  Dowd,  Michael 
Egulph,  John  Foutz,  George  Herrold,  Joseph  Jacobs,  Michael  Kers- 
tetter,  Bostian  Kerstetter,  Andrew  Moor,  Jacob  Myer,  Robert 
Moody,  Edward  McConnell,  William  Nees,  John  Regenbach,  junior, 
Michael  Stoke,  Michael  Swingle,  Harman  Snyder,  Michael  Weaver, 
George  Miller,  Andrew  Ulsh.  Freemen  :  Casper  Snyder,  Conrad 
Hayslick,  and  Michael  Foutz. 

George  Gabriel,  no  doubt,  died  this  year,  as  his  name  disappears 
from  the  assessment  list.  His  obituary,  or  the  only  one  I  can  find, 
at  least,  is  not  very  complimentary.  On  the  13th  November,  1772, 
at  a  meeting  of  "  the  officers,"  Mr.  Lukens  and  Little  had  a  claim, 
they  said,  for  a  location  of  three  hundred  acres,  presented  to  them 
by  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  which  was  included  in  the  officers'  sur- 


38  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1771. 

vey,  insisting  that  the  place  now  called  Cedar  springs,  Pontius's  now, 
was  the  same  to  which  Colonel  Armstrong  gave  the  name  of  Snake 
spring,  in  1755  ;  and  Mr.  Ewing  read  a  paper,  said  to  be  a  copy  of 
George  Gabriel's  deposition,  who  was  with  Colonel  Armstrong  when 
the  name  was  given.  "We  told  them  that  their  location  was  extremely 
vague,  being  for  land  near  John  Penn's  creek,  twelve  miles  south- 
ward of  Fort  Augusta,  which  did  not  affect  our  claim  in  the  least. 
As  to  Gabriel's  deposition,  it  is  but  ex  parte  testimony.  The  man 
is  since  dead,  but  is  well  known  to  have  been  a  man  of  infamous 
character.  That  Colonel  Armstrong,  the  gentleman  who  gave  the 
location,  is  still  living,  and  has  declared  that  he  cannot  fix  upon  the 
spot."  This  claim  was,  no  doubt,  founded  upon  the  Manor  survey 
of  1 760. 

Jacob  Fought  built  the  first  mill  in  West  Buffalo  township,  and, 
perhaps,  the  first  in  the  Valley,  unless,  we  except  Derr's,  at  Lewis- 
burg,  the  exact  date  of  the  building  of  which  I  cannot  ascertain, 
though,  probably,  in  1770.  The  date  of  Fought's  is  fixed  by  an 
agreement,  yet  on  record,  with  George  Rote,  dated  14th  November, 
1776.  It  recites  that  Fought  built  the  mill  in  1771,  and  a  dam  on 
the  south  branch  of  the  creek.  Finding  that  insufficient,  he  dug  a 
water-course,  and  erected  a  dam  to  take  the  water  from  the  north 
branch  of  Buffalo  creek.  George  Rote  had  purchased  the  adjoining 
tract  of  Colonel  deHaas,  who  had  purchased  of  Ensign  Foster.  By 
this  agreement,  the  yearly  damage  to  Rote's  land  was  fixed  at  ^\ 
5J,  and  Fought  bound  himself,  his  heirs,  and  successors  to  pay  said 
sum  yearly;  but  if  the  mill-dam  became  "  extink  "  or  the  water 
ceased  to  do  damage,  the  agreement  was  to  be  void.  Marks  were 
to  be  made  on  a  big  rock,  on  an  iron-wood,  and  on  a  white  oak. 
When  the  water  reached  these  marks,  it  was  to  be  run  over  the  dam. 
The  dam  on  the  north  branch  was  to  be  three  feet,  and  no  higher. 
At  Fought's  mill  the  first  elections  in  the  Valley  were  held. 

James  Wilson  made  numerous  surveys  this  year:  31st  May,  the 
William  Kelly  tract,  on  Black's  run,  on  which  Stahl,  the  noted  wagon- 
maker,  lived  so  long;  2 2d  June,  Peter  Herrold  and  John  Flack- 
inger,  on  White  Deer  creek  ;  i6th  August,  the  Thomas  Mackemiss, 
beginning  at  a  black  oak,  he  says,  where  Samuel  Maclay  stopped 
with  the  officers'  line,  on  the  west  line  of  Cumberland  county,  (north 
of  Ray's  church;)  17th  September,  the  Joseph  Updegraff,  the  lead- 


1771,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jg 

ing  survey  on  the  north  branch  of  Buffalo  creek,  (Kelly's  mills.) 
Thomas  McGuire,  the  elder,  was  then  a  resident  of  the  Valley. 
Hawkins  Boone  made  this  year  the  John  Musser  surveys,  in  White 
Deer  Hole  valley,  four  miles-from  the  river. 

From  a  short  sketch  of  the  Dreisbach  church,  compiled  by  the  late 
John  Schrack,  Esquire,  it  appears  there  were  Lutheran  and  German 
Reformed  churches  organized  in  the  Valley  at  this  date.  He  speaks 
of  a  record  of  baptisms,  extending  from  1771  to  1775.  The  church 
was  not  built,  however,  and  worship  was  held  in  private  houses. 
Among  the  names  of  parents,  occur  those  of  Henry  Bolender,  Henry 
Pontius,  Christian  Storms,  Simon  Himrod.  (The  latter  lived  in 
Turbutt  township.  Was  afterwards  member  of  Assembly.  The 
family  removed  to  near  Waterford,  Erie  county,  in  1798.)  Leonard 
Welker,  Philip  Stover,  Christian  Biehl,  Yost  Derr,  Christian  Ewig, 
Stephen  Duchman,  and  Henry  Bickel,  afterwards  killed  by  the 
Indians. 

During  this  year,  Daniel  Nargong  made  an  improvement  on  Dog 
run,  near  the  site  of  New  Columbia.  He  afterwards  took  up  a  tract 
higher  up  the  run.  His  daughters  married  Nicholas  and  Jacob 
Welch,  whose  family  owned  the  place  within  a  few  years  back,  and, 
perhaps,  do  still. 

In  November,  1771,  Walter  Clark,  of  Paxton  township,  bought 
the  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  surveyed  to  Reverend 
John  Ewing,  in  trust  for  himself,  Robert  Fruit,  William  Gray, 
Robert  Clark,  and  William  Clark,  all  of  the  same  township.  They 
divided  it  into  six  tracts,  agreed  each  to  take  one  sixth,  and  sell  the 
remaining  tract,  which  they  did  to  Ludwig  Derr,  31st  July,  1773. 
Walter  Clark  settled  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Honorable  Eli 
Slifer,  William  Gray  where  Major  Paul  Geddes  now  lives,  Robert 
Fruit  on  the  Heinly  place,  William  Clark  on  the  place  now  owned 
by  M.  H.  Taggart,  and  Robert  on  what  is  now  Judge  Hummel's 
farm.  Walter  Clark  sold  to  Joseph  Musser  in  1802,  and  moved  to 
Mercer  county,  where  his  family  became  prominent.  His  son  John 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  that  county.  Captain  Gray, 
afterwards  an  officer  in  the  Revolution,  lived  and  died  on  his  place. 
He  was  ancestor  of  Dunlaps's,  Hayes,  Hutchinsons,  Hudsons,  Wal- 
laces, W.  G.  Williams,  (of  Bellefonte,)  &c.  Richard  Fruit  sold  out 
to  Henry  Hursh  in  181 2,  and  moved  to  Derry,  Northumberland 


40 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1772. 


county.  Robert  and  William  Clark  died  on  their  respective  places. 
Among  the  deaths  this  year  occurred  that  of  Michael  Weyland, 
leaving  a  widow,  Magdalena,  and  nine  children,  Michael,  junior, 
Jacob,  George,  John,  Samuel,  Mary,  (married  to  Peter  Swartz, 
junior,)  Margaret,  (to  Christian  Moyer,)  Catherine,  and  Magdalena. 
He  was  buried  on  the  place,  in  an  old  grave-yard  there.  Colonel 
James  Moore  told  me  it  was  still  in  existence  when  his  father  lived 
there,  a  little  piece  up  the  road  running  from  the  river. 


\>l>l% 


Northumberland  County  Erected — Officials — Boundaries  of  Town- 
sjnps — Sunbury  Laid  Out — First  Roads — Connecticut  Claim — 
William  Speddy — Ludwig  Derr — Deaths. 

ICHARD  PENN,  Lieutenant  Governor.  Representative 
in  Assembly,  Samuel  Hunter.  George  Nagel,  Sheriff  of 
Berks  and  Northumberland. 

Additional  residents  in  Penn's  township:  Abraham 
Clements,  Michael  Hawn,  Henry  Miser,  George  Miller,  John  Swartz, 
Melchior  Stock,  Adam  Steffy,  Simon  Scouden,  widow  of  Andrew 
Moore,  Benjamin  Ewig,  Conrad  Hafflich,  John  Reber.  The  first 
assessments  of  Penn's  and  Buffalo,  from  the  organization  of  the 
county  down  to  1775,  seem  to  have  been  lost  when  the  records  were 
forwarded  to  Paxton,  during  the  great  runaway.  List  of  settlers 
cannot,  therefore,  be  given  for  the  three  years  intervening. 

2ist  March,  Northumberland  county  was  erected  out  of  parts  of 
Berks,  Bedford,  Lancaster,  Cumberland,  and  Northampton,  by  the 
following  bounds:  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Mahantango  creek, 
up  the  south  side,  to  the  head  of  Robert  Meteer's  spring,  (in  West 
Perry,  near  Mr.  Winey's,  sometimes  miscalled  Montour's  spring;) 
thence  west  by  north,  to  the  top  of  Tussey's  mountain ;  thence  along 


1772. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  41 

the  summit  to  the  httle  Juniata;  thence  up  the  east  side  of  the  main 
branch,  to  the  head  thereof;  thence  north  to  the  line  of  Berks 
county ;  thence  north-west,  along  the  same  line,  to  the  extremity  of 
the  Province ;  thence  east,  along  the  north  boundary,  to  a  point  due 
north  of  the  most  northern  part  of  Great  swamp,  (the  numerous 
ponds  in  the  upper  end  of  Luzerne  county  are  here  referred  to;) 
thence  south  to  the  most  southern  point  of  said  swamp  ;  thence,  with 
a  straight  line,  to  the  head  of  Lehigh;  thence  down  the  creek  so  far 
that  a  line  run  west  south-west  will  strike  the  forks  of  Mahantango 
creek,  where  Pine  creek  falls  into  the  same,  at  the  place  called 
Spread  Eagle,  (now  Klingerstown,)  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susque- 
hanna; thence  down  the  south  side  of  the  creek  to  the  river;  thence 
across  the  river  to  the  beginning. 

The  county,  therefore,  extended  as  far  west  as  Lake  Erie,  the 
head  of  Lehigh  on  the  east,  (Pike  county,)  New  York  State  on  the 
north,  and  the  mouth  of  Mahantango  creek  on  the  south.  Fort 
Augusta  was  fixed  as  the  place  of  election,  and  the  county  to  be  en- 
titled to  one  Representative.  The  Governor  was  to  nominate  a 
competent  number  of  justices,  any  three  of  whom  could  hold  the 
several  courts  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  February,  May,  August,  and 
November,  at  Fort  Augusta,  until  a  court-house  should  be  built. 
William  Maclay,  John  Lowdon,  Samuel  Hunter,  Joseph  Wallis,  and 
Robert  Moodie  were  appointed  trustees  to  purchase  a  piece  of 
ground  on  which  the  court-house  was  to  be  erected,  subject  to  the 
Governor's  approval.  Thomas  Lemmon  was  made  collector  of 
excise.  Joshua  Elder,  James  Potter,  Jesse  Lukens,  and  William 
Scull  were  appointed  to  run  the  boundary  line. 

0;ffic\als. 

William  Plunket,  Turbutt  Francis,  Samuel  Hunter,  James  Potter, 
William  Maclay,  John  Lowdon,  Thomas  Lemmon,  Ellis  Hughes, 
and  Benjamin  Weiser  confirmed  as  justices  in  Council,  and  William 
Maclay,  prothonotary  and  clerk  of  the  several  courts,  March  24. 

The  first  county  commissioners  were  William  Gray,  Thomas 
Hewitt,  and  John  Weitzel.  November  23,  Casper  Reed,  of  Penn's, 
was  sworn  in  as  county  commissioner ;  Alexander  Hunter,  county 
treasurer;  Walter  Clark,  Jonathan  Lodge,  Peter  Hosterman,  James 


42  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1772. 

Harrison,  Nicholas  Miller,  Jacob  Heverling,  and  Samuel  Weiser, 
assessors. 

9th  April,  the  first  court,  which  was  a  private  sessions  of  the  peace, 
William  Plunket  presiding,  James  Potter  and  John  Lowdon  assist- 
ing, was  held.  The  county  was  divided  into  seven  townships : 
Penn's,  Augusta,  Turbutt,  Buffalo,  Bald  Eagle,  Muncy,  and  Wyo- 
ming.    Our  annals  relate  only  to  Buffalo  and  Penn's. 

The  boundary  of  Buffalo  commenced  at  the  mouth  of  Penn's 
creek,  at  the  head  of  the  Isle  of  Que ;  thence  up  the  same  to  the 
forks,  (a  {it\N  miles  south  of  Millheim,  Centre  county;)  thence  by  a 
north  line  to  the  West  Branch,  (this  struck  the  river  at  the  mouth  of 
Bald  Eagle  creek,  a  mile  below  Lock  Haven;)  thence  down  the 
river  to  the  place  of  beginning.  Thus  embracing  all  of  Union,  a 
large  part  of  Snyder  and  Centre,  and  a  great  part  of  Lycoming 
counties,  as  now  constituted.     Robert  King  was  the  first  constable. 

The  boundary  of  Penn's,  before  that  in  Cumberland  county,  be- 
gan at  the  mouth  of  Mahantango  creek ;  thence,  by  the  county  line, 
to  Meteer's  spring;  thence,  with  the  same  line,  to  the  top  of  Tussey's 
mountain;  thence,  along  the  top  thereof,  easterly,  to  Penn's  creek; 
thence  down  the  creek  to  its  mouth ;  thence  down  the  river  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  This  boundary  ran  along  the  present  line  of 
Snyder  county;  thence  to  the  north  line  of  Mifflin  county,  at  the 
corner  of  the  present  townships  of  Jackson  and  Brown,  and  em- 
braced part  of  Brown,  nearly  all  of  Armagh  and  Decatur  town- 
ships, in  Mifflin,  the  southern  portions  of  Hartley  and  Lewis,  and 
all  the  present  county  of  Snyder,  except  Monroe  township. 

The  first  court  of  common  pleas  was  held  on  the  fourth  Tuesday 
of  May,  before  Justices  William  Plunket,  Samuel  Hunter,  Caleb 
Grayson,  Thomas  Lemmon,  and  Robert  Moodie.  The  commission 
of  William  Maclay,  prothonotary,  was  read,  and  the  following  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  sworn  in:  James  Wilson,  of  York,  (a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,)  then  residing  at  York  ;  Robert  Magaw, 
of  Carlisle,  (afterwards  colonel  of  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  and  defender 
of  Fort  Washington ;)  Edward  Burd,  district  attorney ;  Christian 
Hackstand  George  North.    After  examination,  James  Potts,  Charles 

'  Afterwards  the  Tory,  Captain  Hucks,  of  Tarleton's  dragoons,  killed  in  South 
Carolina,  in  1780-81.— Graydon  Memoirs,  page  270. 


1772.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  43 

Stedman,  and  Andrew  Robinson.  Tavern  keepers  applying  for 
license  were  George  Wolf,  (below  the  Northumberland  bridge,)  Mar- 
tin Trester  of  Buffalo,  and  Martin  Cost.  The  number  of  suits 
brought  to  August  term  was  thirty-three.  No.  i  was  James  Patton 
vs.  James  Garley — Magaw  for  plaintiff,  Wilson  for  defendant.  Of 
the  first  grand  jurors  were  Captain  John  Brady,  foreman,  George 
Overmeier,  John  Rearick,  Peter  Leonard,  William  Gray,  Ludwig 
Derr,  Andrew  Hafer,  Hawkins  Boone,  James  Park,  and  John  Walk- 
er, all  of  Buffalo  Valley. 

Sunhury. 

In  a  letter,  dated  June  2,  1772,  Mr.  Tilghman,  Secretary  of  the 
Land  Office,  writes  to  William  Maclay  :  "Mr.  Lukens  goes  to  lay  out 
the  town,  agreeably  to  instructions.  You  are  joined  with  him  in 
the  work.  You  are  to  treat  with  Mr.  Lowdon,  and  if  his  title  be 
good,  and  he  will  take  a  sum  named  in  the  instructions,  (;!^2oo,) 
the  town  is  to  be  laid  out  in  the  Forks ;  otherwise  on  the  fort  side. 
Wallis  and  Haines  have  said  they  had  a  right,  and  they  must  relin- 
quish it.  As  Lowdon's  application  was  in  his  wife's  name,  she  must 
convey.  As  putting  the  town  in  the  forks  is  a  concession  against 
the  interest  of  the  Proprietaries  to  accommodate  the  people,  if  the 
place  cannot  be  clear  of  claims,  the  town  must  be  on  the  other  side." 

Some  of  the  difficulties  were  insuperable,  for  the  instructions  to 
treat  with  Lowdon  for  three  hundred  and  thirty  acres,  or  there- 
abouts, situated  near  the  point  of  the  Forks,  are  stricken  out  of  the 
rough  draft,  and  on  the  i6th  of  June,  the  Governor  and  his  Coun- 
cil issued  an  order  to  the  Surveyor  General,  John  Lukens,  to  repair 
to  Fort  Augusta,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  William  Maclay,  lay  out 
a  town  for  the  county  of  Northumberland,  to  be  called  by  the  name 
of  Sunbury,  at  the  most  commodious  place  between  the  forks  of  the 
river  and  the  mouth  of  Shamokin  creek.  Main  street  to  be  eighty 
feet  wide,  the  others  sixty,  the  lanes  and  alleys  twenty,  &c.  The 
town  was  accordingly  laid  out  in  June,  1772.  On  the  31st  of  Au- 
gust, William  Maclay  writes,  that  the  noise  about  the  point  town  is 
already  greatly  quieted,  and  the  people  begin  to  think  Sunbury  the 
best  situation. 


44  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1772. 

The  ferry. 

August  r4th,  Thomas  Penn  and  Richard  Penn,  by  letters  patent, 
granted  to  Robert  King,  liis  executors  and  assigns,  the  privilege  of 
keeping  a  ferry,  over  the  main  branch  of  the  Susquehanna  at  Sun- 
bury.  (King  conveyed  his  right  to  Adam  Heverling,  November  30? 
1773;  Heverling  to  Christopher  Gettig,  April  17,  1775  ;  Gettig  to 
Abraham  Dewitt,  October  8,  1779;  Eleanor  Dewitt,  dt/Ztzx  Coldern, 
administratrix  of  Dewitt,  to  John  Lyon,  October  25,  1787  ;  and  on 
the  2d  of  November,  1787,  John  Lyon  presented  a  petition  to  the 
Assembly  for  the  privilege  for  a  term  of  years,  which  was  granted.) 
The  first  criminal  case  was  tried  at  August  sessions,  King  vs.  John 
Williams,  for  larceny — Robert  Fruit  and  Robert  Clark  were  on  the 
jury.  He  was  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  ^^,  to 
receive  twenty-one  lashes  on  his  bare  back,  and  to  be  committed  to 
the  magazine  of  the  fort  until  the  sentence  was  complied  with. 
,  Thomas  Hartley,  (lieutenant  colonel  of  Eleventh  Pennsylvania 
i  regiment,)  Casper  Weitzej,  Andrew  Ross,  and  James  Whitehead 
were  sworn  in  as  attorneys,  at  August  term.  Hawkins  Boone  and 
Thomas  Sutherland  had  suits  at  this  term — Weitzel  for  Boone,  Sted- 
man  for  Sutherland ;  also,  Michael  Regor  vs.  William  Blythe.  The 
latter  suit  referred  to  Samuel  Maclay,  John  Brady,  and  George 
Wolfe,  to  settle.  George  Nagel,  sheriff  of  Berks,  acted  as  sheriff  until 
Colonel  William  Cooke  was  commissioned,  in  October,  the  first 
sheriff  of  Northumberland  county. 

The  first  road  up  the  river  from  Fort  Augusta  was  reported  by 
the  viewers,  Richard  Malone,  Marcus  Huling,  John  Robb,  and 
Alexander  Stephens,  in  October : 

"To  begin  at  the  end  of  the  road  lately  laid  out  from  the  head 
of  the  Schuylkill  to  Fort  Augusta;  thence  north-east,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  perches,  to  the  fording;  thence  across  the  North  Branch, 
to  a  marked  hickory,  near  the  bank  on  the  main  point ;  at  two  miles 
eighty-six  perches,  they  came  to  John  Alexander's ;  at  one  and  a  half 
miles  further,  they  crossed  Chillisquaque  creek ;  at  nearly  one  mile 
further,  they  came  to  William  Plunket's;  at  three  miles  further, 
John  Dougherty's ;  at  two  miles  further,  Marcus  Huling's ;  at  ten 
miles,  the  gap  in  the  Muncy  hills ;  at  four  miles,  Muncy  creek ;  at 
two  hundred  and  seven  rods,  Wolfe's  run ;   four  liundred  and  forty- 


1772.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


45 


two  rods,  crossed  the  run  above  Samuel  Wallis'  house;  three  hundred 
and  twenty-two  rods,  crossed  next  run  above ;  at  four  and  a  half 
miles,  Loyalsock  creek;  at  five  and  a  half  miles,  Lycoming  creek." 
Total,  thirty-seven  miles  from  Northumberland  point  to  now  New- 
berry, in  the  city  of  Williamsport.  This  road  was  confirmed,  and 
ordered  to  be  opened,  thirty-three  feet  in  width.  The  line  of  the 
Indian  purchase  was  then  assumed  to  be  at  Lycoming  creek,  after- 
wards, admitted  by  the  Indians  to  be  at  Pine  creek.  The  order 
specified  the  "Indian  line,"  as  the  fermimis  of  the  road. 

Of  the  Connecticut  Claim. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  Connecticut  people,  or  Yankees,  as 
they  were  called  by  the  Pennamites,  claimed  under  their  charter  the 
land  as  far  south  as  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude,  which  passes 
through  the  county  a  mile  or  more  north  of  Lewisburg.  By  the 
following  memorandum,  furnished  me  by  O.  N.  Worden,  Esquire, 
which  he  found  among  the  records  of  the  Susquehanna  Land  Com- 
pany, at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  it  appears  that  William  Speddy 
(the  elder)  was  their  authorized  agent  to  take  and  hold  possession 
of  land  claimed  by  them  in  the  Valley.  "  1771,  William  Speddy 
voted  one  'selling  right'  in  Wyoming,  for  previous  efforts  in  hold- 
ing possession  in  June,  and  for  further  intended  efforts." 

The  following  affidavit,  in  the  handwriting  of  William  Maclay, 
which  I  found  among  the  papers  of  the  deputy  surveyor's  office  of 
Union  county,  is  the  first  notice  I  have  of  his  appearance  in  Buffalo 
Valley.  It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection,  that,  in  deeds  of  this 
year  (1772)  for  lands  in  our  Valley,  special  warrants  were  common 
"against  the  claim  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  England."  It  appears 
(Votes  of  Assembly,  1773,  page  492)  that  in  June  a  large  band  of 
armed  men  from  Connecticut  appeared  upon  the  West  Branch,  to 
dispossess  the  inhabitants,  and  were  prevented.  Speddy  was  the 
mere  advanced  skirmisher  or  picket : 

' '  No7-thi0nberland  County,  ss  : 

"John  Scott,  of  Northampton  county,  being  duly  sworn  on  the 
Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  deposeth  that  the  night  before 
last,  this  deponent  and  his  son  and  another  man  from  Bucks 
county,  lay  in  the  woods  near  Buffaloe  creek,  and  in  the  morning  a 


46  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1772 

certain  William  Speddy  came  to  them  and  told  them  he  supposed 
they  were  travelers  and  looking  for  lands  to  buy;  this  deponent 
and  company  answered  in  the  afifirmative.  He  then  desired  them 
to  take  care  how  they  purchased  of  Penn,  unless  they  had  likewise 
New  England  rights ;  this  deponent  answered  that  he  would  not 
give  a  copper  for  New  England  rights.  He  said  this  deponent 
might  be  mistaken  in  being  too  sure  in  depending  on  Penn's  rights. 
That  the  New  England  people  had  more  right  than  we  thought  for ; 
he  owned  that  he  stood  by  and  saw  Stuart  shoot  Ogden,  and  justi- 
fied the  action.  Much  more  was  said  to  nearly  the  same  purpose 
by  the  said  Speddy,  who  spoke  with  great  violence,  and  would  not 
bear  any  contradiction  to  what  he  asserted.  Sworn  and  subscribed 
the  17  of  June,  1772." 

William  Speddy's  name  first  appears  in  "a  list  of  rioters  in  the 
fort  at  Wyoming,  21st  January,  1771,  when  Nathan  Ogden  was 
murdered,"  to  use  the  language  of  Governor  John  Penn.  (John 
Penn's  proclamation  offering  a  reward  of  ^50  for  the  arrest  of 
William  Speddy,  9th  February,  1771.)  In  Hugh  Gaines'  New 
York  Gazette  of  November  14,  1771,  there  is  a  paragraph  of  Phila- 
delphia news,  dated  November  4,  1771,  as  follows:  "At  the  Su- 
preme Court,  held  here  on  Tuesday  last,  William  Speddy  was 
arraigned  and  tried  for  the  murder  of  Lieutenant  Nathan  Ogden, 
who  was  shot  from  the  block-house  at  Wyoming,  whilst  it  was  in 
the  possession  of  Lazarus  Stewart  and  company.  After  a  long  and 
impartial  hearing,  the  jury  soon  gave  in  their  verdict  '  not  guilty.'  "' 
Doctor  Peck,  in  his  history  of  Wyoming,  notices  him  thus:  "An- 
other of  these  rioters,  as  they  were  called,  was  William  Speddy. 
He  was  somewhat  in  years,  and  was  called  'Old  Speddy,'  but  his 
age  could  not  abate  the  rigor  of  the  Pennsylvania  authorities,  for 
they  kept  him  in  close  confinement  in  Philadelphia  for  more  than 
two  years.  How,  where,  or  precisely  when  Speddy  was  captured 
we  are  not  able  to  say,  but  his  final  examination  must  have  taken 
place  some  time  in  the  year  1771.  Mrs.  Myers  says  when  her 
sister  Polly  was  two  years  old,  and  she  was  twelve,  her  mother  was 
desired  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  as  a  witness  in  favor  of  Speddy,  who 
was  to  be  tried  for  the  murder  of  Nathan  Ogden.  This  journey 
Mrs.  Bennett  performed  alone  on  horseback,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles,  most  of  the  way  through  the  wilderness. 


1772,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  47 

When  she  reached  Philadelphia,  she  found  that  the  court  had  ad- 
journed, and  she  then  made  a  journey  to  Goshen,  and  attended  to 
some  business.  When  the  trial  came  on  she  was  present,  and  her 
testimony  cleared  Speddy.  He  was  wasted  away  to  a  mere  skele- 
ton. When  he  was  discharged  his  joy  and  gratitude  overleaped  all 
bounds.  He  fell  upon  his  knees  before  Mrs.  Bennett,  and  almost 
worshiped  her.  'Get  up,  Speddy,'  said  she,  'I  have  done  no 
more  than  any  one  ought  to  do  for  a  fellow-creature.'  He  kissed 
her  hand  and  bathed  it  with  tears."  This  story  of  "■  Pennsylvania 
rigor"  is  reduced  in  dimensions  from  two  years  to  probably  eight 
months,  as  no  man  was  ever  tried  twice  for  the  same  murder  in 
Pennsylvania  ■  and  he  was  acquitted  on  the  4th  of  November,  1 7  7 1 . 
Long  enough,  however,  for  this  old  war  hawk  of  New  England 
rights,  to  be  caged,  to  render  him  very  grateful  to  Mrs.  Bennett. 

As  it  is  said  the  honey  bee  precedes  about  fifty  miles  and  heralds 
the  advance  of  the  white  man  into  the  wilderness,  Speddy  was  the 
honey  bee  of  New  England  civilization  in  Buffalo  Valley. 

He  chose  for  his  residence  the  prettiest  little  dale  in  Buffalo 
Valley.  It  is  on  Turtle  creek,  near  what  is  now  Supplee's  (formerly 
Treaster's)  mill.  Jacob  Brown  now  ownfe  the  place.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1776,  he  volunteered  in  Captain  John  Clarke's  company  of 
Northumberland  county,  and  served  during  the  campaign  of  Tren- 
ton and  Princeton.  In  1778  he  resided  upon  the  same  tract,  which 
was  known  as  the  George  Gall  tract  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
acres.  In  1780  he  is  taxed  with  the  same  tract,  one  horse,  and 
three  cows.  In  1782,  in  connection  with  John  Lee  and  William 
Storms,  he  was  assessor  of  Buffalo  township.  His  signature  to  the 
assessment  is  in  a  full,  round,  beautiful  hand.  In  1785,  his  name  is 
dropped  from  the  assessment  books,  and  he  disappears  from  our  local 
history.     He  had  a  son,  William  Speddy,  junior. 

J.  W.  Speddy,  of  Mifflintown,  Pennsylvania,  wrote  me  in  1870 
that  William  Speddy,  senior,  was  his  great-grandfather,  and  that  the 
latter  removed  to  Lost  creek  valley,  Juniata  county,  and  died  at  a 
place  called  Speddy's  Gap,  near  McAllisterville.  H.  Swartzell,  Es- 
quire, deputy  surveyor  of  Mifflin  county,  allowed  me  to  copy  a  draft 
of  the  Speddy  tract.  It  is  the  border  one  of  the  Valley  surveys, 
and  the  finger-board  to  the  Shade  mountain  surveys,  and,  there- 
fore, though  dead,  he  yet  speaks,  and  his  name  will,  no  doubt,  be 


48  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1772. 

called  over  in  court  and  out  of  court  for  hundreds  of  years  yet  to 
come. 

In  April,  James  Wilson  made  a  number  of  surveys  for  John  Low- 
don,  in  what  is  now  the  territory  of  West  Buffalo.  On  the  15th  of 
May  he  made  the  leading  survey  in  the  lower  end  of  what  is  now 
Union  township,  for  Daniel  Rees,  so  many  years  owned  by  Joseph 
Fearon,  and  now  owned  and  occupied,  in  part,  by  Joseph  Shannon. 
In  consequence  of  the  suit  between  Bonham  and  William  Gibbons, 
referred  to  hereafter  in  connection  with  the  capture  of  the  Emerick 
family,  the  Rees  lines  were  often  run  and  found  well  marked.  On 
his  original  field  notes,  Wilson  says  :  "This  land  is  situated  about 
two  miles  from  John  Lee's,  on  both  sides  of  the  path  that  leads  to 
Treaster's."  Trester's  was  at  the  mouth  of  Tuscarora  creek,  on 
Penn's,  one  mile  above  New  Berlin,  now  in  Jackson  township,  Sny- 
der county. 

Ludwig  Derr  bought  the  tract  on  which  Lewisburg  now  stands, 
diying  the  summer  of  this  year,  from  the  Reverend  Richard  Peters. 
His  mill,  which  is  still  standing,  being  the  front  portion  of  Smith 
&  Fry's,  so  many  years  John  Brown's  mill,  was  in  existence  in  the 
fall  of  this  year.  How  long  previous  I  cannot  ascertain.  Derr 
bought  the  "  Joseph  Hudnot  tract,"  (still  owned,  except  the  part 
belonging  to  Joseph  W.  Shriner,  by  his  grand  and  great-grand- 
children,) in  June,  1772,  of  John  Coxe,  merchant,  of  Philadelphia, 

for  ^175- 

On  the  3d  of  October,  John  Aurand  bought  the  "  Jenkin's  mill  " 
property,  on  Turtle  creek,  and  it  went  by  the  name  of  "  Aurand's 
mill,"  when  he  sold  it  to  Morgan  Jenkin.  It  is  still  owned  by  the 
Jenkin's  family.  Doctor  Harbaugh,  in  his  "  Fathers  of  the  German 
Reformed  Church,"  states,  upon  the  authority  of  John  Aurand,  of 
Yellow  Springs,  Blair  county,  a  grandson  of  John  Aurand,  that  the 
latter  built  both  flour  and  saw-mill  at  Turtle  creek.  Wilson,  how- 
ever, had  some  sort  of  a  mill  there  as  early  as  1771.  John  Wilson 
died  during  the  year  1772,  according  to  my  researches — Miss  Sand- 
ford,  ante,  says  in  1774. 

In  the  fall  Robert  Barber,  Esquire,  built  the  first  house  on  the 
White  Springs  tract  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  as  he  recites 
in  a  lease  dated  9th  August,  1773,  to  John  Scott,  that  he  leases  him 
the  house  he  had  built  last  fall  at  the  head  of  White  springs  for 


1772.J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  4g 

seven  years.  It  was  on  the  Edward  Lee  warrantee,  which  Barber 
had  purchased,  in  August,  from  Reuben  Haines. 

Christian  Diehl  (written  Dale)  lived  on  part  of  the  Ewing  tract, 
(now  Colonel  SUfer's  upper  farm,  near  the  iron  bridge.)  The  late 
John  Beeber  told  me  that  his  father's  term  of  service  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  Diehl  from  the  captain  whose  ship  he  came  over  in,  and  he 
helped  Mr.  Diehl  clear  that  place  in  1772,  owned  then  by  Ludwig 
Derr.  Adam  Beeber  then  returned  to  Philadelphia,  served  five 
years  in  the  army,  after  which  he  came  up  to  Muncy,  where  he 
settled  and  died.  Christian  Diehl's  grandson.  Captain  Christian 
Dale,  of  Harris  township,  Centre  county,  aged  sixty-six,  confirms 
the  story,  as  a  tradition  of  the  family,  in  regard  to  Adam  Beeber's 
service  with  his  grandfather. 

William  Wilson  bought  of  James  Wilson,  his  father,  the  John 
Moore  warrantee.  Settled  there  during  this  year.  He  was  then 
unmarried.  Boarded  at  a  house  near  Mortonville,  whence  he  walked 
over  every  day  to  clear  his  place,  on  which  he  died  in  1824.  His 
mansion  residence  is  now  owned  by  Reverend  Jacob  Rodenbaugh. 

Wendell  Baker  bought  of  Samuel  Maclay  the  George  Calhoun 
tract,  still  owned  by  his  descendants,  in  August,  and  moved  into 
the  Valley  from  York  county.  Mrs.  David  H.  Kelly  and  J.  T. 
Baker  Esquire,  are  of  his  descendants. 

John  Lowdon  settled  on  the  Levi  Shoemaker  place,  near  Mifflin- 
burg,  which  he  called  "Silver  Spring,"  removing  there  from  Nor- 
thumberland point,  where  he  subsequently  laid  out  the  present  town 
of  Northumberland. 

John  McClung  settled  on  the  place  known  as  "Hard  Scrabble," 
in  East  Buffalo.  In  1807  Matthias  Macpherson  bought  that  por- 
tion of  the  McClung  place,  and  sold  off  the  lots. 

In  December  occurred  the  first  wedding  in  the  Valley  I  find  any 
record  of.  Magdalena,  widow  of  Michael  Weyland,  to  Peter  Swartz, 
senior.  The  latter  then  moved  upon  the  place  described  as  containing 
three  hundred  acres  at  Sinking  spring — Shikeliimy's  old  town.  On 
the  1 8th  of  December,  Mrs.  Swartz  took  out  letters  of  administration 
upon  her  former  husband's  estate,  the  first  ever  issued  in  Northum- 
berland county.  Her  account  was  filed  8th  September,  1774,  in 
which  Peter  Swartz  joins.  It  has  an  item  on  the  debtor  side  of  deer 
skins,  accepted  for  a  debt  due  the  estate  from  Captain  John  Brady. 
4 


so  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1773. 

Peter  Smith,  who  lived  at  White  Deer  Mills,  (part  of  his  old  stone 
house  still  stands,  now  occupied  by  Doctor  Donowsky,)  died  this 
fall.  Jesse  Lukens  had  the  rightful  title,  and  brought  a  suit,  in 
1772,  against  Peter,  marked  abated  by  the  death  of  Smith,  in  1773, 
February.     His  widow  held  on  the  possession,  (postea  1785.) 

Thomas  McKee,  the  Indian  trader,  from  whom  McKees'  Half- 
Falls  gets  its  name,  died  in  April,  1772. 


h-h- 


1773 


Settlers — Roads — Buffalo  Crops-Roads  Church — EjECTiMENT  Cases.J 

|ICHARD    PENN,    acting    Lieutenant    Governor   until 
July    19.       After   August    30,    John    Penn,    who   was 
confirmed  Lieutenant  Governor  by  the  King,  June  30, 
was  awarded  the  title  of  Governor  by  the  Provincial 
Council. 

Member  of  Assembly,  Samuel  Hunter ;  Presiding  Justice,  William 
Plunket ;  Prothonotary,  William  Maclay ;  Sheriff,  William  Cooke ; 
Coroner,  James  Murray ;   County  Commissioner,  Casper  Reed. 

Officers  of  Buffalo :  Constable,  James  Boveard ;  Supervisors, 
Joseph  Green  and  Martin  Trester ;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  William 
Irwin,  late  of  Carlisle,  and  John  Lee. 

Settlers  during  this  year :  Abel  Reese,  on  the  place  now  owned 
by  John  Gundy's  heirs,  in  East  Buffalo  ;  Joseph  Sips,  on  the  David 
Henning  place,  in  Buffalo ;  Philip  Hoy  purchased  the  place  in 
Limestone  township,  still  owned  by  his  descendants  ;  James  Fleming 
settled  on  Dale's  place,  opposite  late  Thomas  Clingan's,  erected  a 
cabin,  and  cleared  four  or  five  acres.  He  sold  out  to  Samuel  Dale. 
See  Gray  vs.  Dale,  4  Yeates,  494,  for  an  account  of  their  dispute 
about  the  dividing  line. 


1773.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  5/ 

On  the  grand  jury  for  May  occur  the  names  of  William  Irwin, 
John  Foster,  Peter  Swartz,  Abel  Reese,  John  Gillespie,  William 
Foster,  William  Leech,  and  John  Thompson.  Leonard  Groninger 
and  James  Buchanan  had  a  battle,  which  came  before  them.  Joseph 
Green  became  Buchanan's  bail. 

Christian  Van  Gundy  recommended  for  license.  He  kept  a 
tavern  at  the  Strohecker  landing,  his  house  standing  on  Derr's  land. 
Its  remains  were  removed  by  excavation  for  the  railroad  in  1854. 

William  Irwin,  John  Kelly,  Robert  King,  Jacob  Grozean,  (called 
French  Jacob,)  and  Ludwig  Derr  were  appointed  viewers  to  lay  out 
a  road  "  from  the  fording  between  Ludwig  Derr's  and  John  Aurand's 
mill  through  Buffalo  Valley  to  the  Narrows."  They  never  reported, 
and  at  May  sessions,  1774,  Samuel  Maclay,  William  Irwin,  Henry 
Pontius,  Christian  Storms,  and  William  Gray  were  appointed  in 
their  stead.  They  reported  in  February,  1775.  William  Foster 
and  John  Lee  (first  tavern  at  Winfield)  were  recommended  for 
license.  Among  the  viewers  to  lay  out  the  road  from  Great  Plains 
to  Sunbury  were  James  Potter,  John  Thompson,  Joseph  Green,  et 
al.  Among  the  jurors  were  Thomas  Sutherland,  William  Thompson, 
Philip  Cole,  the  first  inhabitant  of  Hartleton.  He  was  colonel  of 
the  militia  regiment  of  the  Valley  in  1776,  went  on  a  tour  of  duty 
to  Reading  and  Philadelphia;  he  left  the  Valley  with  the  "great 
runaway,"  1778,  and  never  returned.  Peter  Kester  succeeded  Cole 
as  tenant  of  Colonel  Hartley,  who  purchased  of  Cole  in  1 784.  It 
went  by  the  name  of  Kester's  until  Colonel  Hartley  laid  out  the 
town.  An  indictment  was  found  against  Martin  and  Michael 
Trester  for  assault  and  battery ;  they  were  found  guilty,  and  that 
was  all  the  sessions  business  of  this  year. 

Buffalo  Gross-Roads  Presbyterian  Church. 

According  to  Mr.  Hood's  account,  this  church  was  organized  this 
year,  and  James  McClenachan  and  Samuel  Allen  were  its  first  ruling 
elders,  the  former  ordained  at  Derry,  now  in  Dauphin  county,  the 
latter  at  Silver  Spring,  Cumberland  county.  Mr.  McClenachan  was 
from  Hanover  township,  Dauphin  county,  and  came  into  the  Valley 
in  April,  1773.  These  gentlemen  continued  to  act  as  elders  to 
receive  supplies  until  1781,  when  the  church  was  broken  up  in  con- 


j2  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1773. 

sequence  of  the  country  being  overrun  by  the  Indians.  In  1 783  the 
people  returned,  and  in  the  same  year  Mr.  McClenachan  died,  and 
as  Mr.  Allen  had  died  while  the  people  were  away,  it  appears  the 
congregation  were  without  elders  until  the  year  1785,  when  Matthew 
Laird,  who  had  been  an  elder  at  Big  Spring,  came  to  reside  in  the 
congregation.     (Doctor  Grier's  manuscript  sermon.) 

Ejectment. 

x\t  May  term,  Adam  Christ  brought  ejectment  against  William 
Speddy,  tenant  in  possession  of  the  George  Gall  tract,  now  Sup- 
plee's  mill,  in  East  Buffalo.  Speddy's  possession  under  his  (Connec- 
ticut title  did  not  avail,  and  he  was  ousted.  Hartley  and  Burd  for 
Christ ;  Stedman  and  Wilson  for  Speddy. 

Japhet  Morton  also  brought  suit  vs.  Christian  Storms,  tenant  in 
possession  of  Captain  John  Brady's  land,  now  Frederick's,  adjoining 
Mortonsville.  Brady  held  it,  and  it  was  in  possession  of  his  widow 
until  1783.  The  family  lost  it  after  her  death,  and  Morton  became 
owner. 

I  copy,  as  a  curiosity,  a  deed  for  a  tract  of  land  now  owned  by 
David  Heinly,  in  White  Deer  township,  near  New  Columbia: 

"I  promise  to  deliver  to  Valentine  Lees,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  a 
convience  for  fifty  aciers  of  land  adjoining  Rees'  grief  and  John 
Cox,  and  to  agine  when  surveyed  to  land  belonging  to  Valentine 
Lees,  which  warent  was  entered  some  time  last  Spring  in  My  own 
name,  and  for  the  performance  I  bind  myself,  my  heirs,  in  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  pounds,  if  in  consequence  of  the  said  Lees  pein  me 
5  pound  10  shillings  of  cash  and  one  pair  of  lether  britches  to  the 
valy  of  one  pound  11  shillings.  Witness  my  hand  this  26th  day 
of  August,  1773. 

Hawkins  Boone. 

Witness  present :  Samuel  Young. 

William  McMurray,  of  Sunbury,  made  many  surveys  in  the  Valley 
this  year.  The  Leonard  Welker,  East  Buffalo,  nth  May;  Fred- 
erick Deel,  on  Penn's  creek,  near  Centreville  bridge ;  James  Watson, 
east  of  Wehr's  tavern,  on  13th;  Thomas  Procter,  on  Penn's  creek, 
Robert  Jewel,  Joseph  Alston,  Samuel  Breck,  James  Barnes,  ditto; 
Philip  Cole  tract,  McMurray  and  Grant,  &c.,  in  Hartley  township. 


1774,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  53 

William  Black  settled  on  Black's  run,  in  Kelly  township,  and  was 
a  juror  this  year. 

Extract  from  a  manuscript  journal  of  Richard  Miles,  (who  died  in 
Centre  county  many  years  ago,)  April  20,  1773  '■  "Started  for  Sha- 
mokin,  in  company  with  James  and  Enos  Miles,  Abel  Thomas,  and 
John  Lewis,"  (from  Radnor,  Chester  county.)  They  passed  up  the 
river,  stopping  at  Malone's,  Huling's,  Muncy  Hill,  Wallis's,  Loyal- 
sock,  Lycoming,  Pine  creek,  Great  Island,  and  returned,  byway  of 
the  Narrows,  down  through  Buffalo  Valley,  to  Tarr's  Mill,  where  they 
got  a  horse  shod;  thence  they  went  to  Huling's,  (Milton  now;) 
thence  down  the  river  to  the  Fort,  (Augusta.) 

In  June  a  large  body  of  armed  men  from  Connecticut  attempted 
to  dispossess  the  inhabitants  of  the  West  Branch.  This  attempt  was 
successfully  resisted  by  the  posse  of  the  neighborhood,  only  to  be 
renewed  in  1774. 


>7>T 


1774. 


Potter  Township  Erected — Political  Documexts — Cross-Roads  Church 
Titzell's  Mill — Ennion  Williams'  Journal. 

OHN  PENN,  Governor.  Samuel  Hunter,  Member  of 
Assembly.  4th  April,  Robert  Fruit  and  Thomas  Hewitt 
sworn  as  County  Commissioners.  William  Gray  elected 
in  October. 

Officers  of  Buffalo :  James  Young,  Constable ;  James  Park  and 
Michael  Hessler,  Supervisors,  the  latter  lived  where  Crotzerville  now 
stands  ;  Hawkins  Boone  and  John  Foster,  Overseers.  In  February, 
William  Wilson,  (grandfather  of  Doctor  T.  H.,)  and  Samuel  Dale, 
appear  as  jurors.  Colonel  Kelly  was  foreman  in  May.  John 
Clarke,  William  Hutchinson,  grand  jurors. 

At  May  sessions  Potter  township  was  erected  out  of  Penn's,  Buf- 


Si  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1774. 


falo,  and  Bald  Eagle.  Bounded  eastward  by  a  north  north-west 
line  from  the  top  of  Jack's  mountain,  by  the  four-mile  tree  on  Reuben 
Haines'  road,  in  the  Narrows,  to  the  top  of  Nittany  mountain  ;  thence 
along  the  top  to  the  end  thereof,  at  Spring  creek,  on  the  old  path ; 
thence  south  south-east  to  the  top  of  Tussey's  mountain  ;  thence  along 
the  county  line,  to  the  top  of  Jack's  mountain,  and  along  the  same 
to  the  beginning. 

To  August  term  one  hundred  and  forty  suits  were  brought.  The 
ninety-ninth  was  Slough  vs.  Blythe.  Margaret  Blythe's  title  was 
confirmed.  There  was  also  an  ejectment  brought  by  Christian  Van 
Gundy  vs.  Ludwig  Derr  for  the  site  of  Lewisburg. 

In  May  Daniel  Christ  settled  and  made  the  first  clearing  on  the 
place  where  C.  Sheckler,  Esquire,  now  resides,  in  West  Buffalo.  James 
Anderson  was  then  his  neighbor,  and  had  an  improvement  on  the 
Matthew  Irwin  place.  Anderson  left  before  the  runaway  of  1778. 
Irwin  took  possession  after  the  war.  George  Books  also  cleared  a 
part  of  the  Sheckler  place. 

Political. 

The  following  letter,  found  among  the  papers  of  Captain  John 
Lowdon,  discloses  the  means  taken  to  organize  an  opposition  to  the 
encroachments  of  the  mother  country  upon  the  liberties  of  the  Amer- 
ican people,  which  culminated  in  the  Revolution  and  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776  : 

Philadelphia,  y//«(f  28,  1774. 
"To    William  Maclay,   William  Plunket,  and  Samuel  Hunter,  Es- 
quires, Northumberland  : 

"  Gentlemen  ;  The  committee  of  correspondence  for  this  city  beg 
leave  to  inclose  you  printed  copies  of  the  resolves  passed  by  a  very 
large  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  freemen,  in  the 
State  House  square,  on  Saturday,  the  i8th  instant ;  and  by  the  fourth 
of  these  resolves,  you  will  observe  that  it  was  left  for  the  committee 
to  determine  on  the  most  proper  mode  of  collecting  the  sense  of  this 
Province  in  the  present  critical  situation  of  our  affairs,  and  appoint- 
ing Deputies  to  attend  the  proposed  Congress.  In  pursuance  of  this 
trust,  we  have,  upon  the  maturest  delil)eration,  determined  upon  the 
mode  contained  in  the  following  propositions,  which  we  hope  may 


1774.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  55 

meet  with  the  approbation   and  concurrence  of  your  respectable 
county,  viz  : 

"  ist.  That  the  Speaker  of  tlie  House  of  Representatives  be  desired 
to  write  to  the  several  members  of  Assembly,  requesting  them  to 
meet  in  this  city  as  soon  as  possible,  but  not  later  than  the  ist  of 
August  next,  to  take  into  consideration  our  very  alarming  situation. 

"  2d.  That  letters  be  written  to  proper  persons  in  each  county, 
recommending  it  to  them  to  get  committees  appointed  for  their 
respective  counties,  and  that  the  said  committees  or  such  number 
of  them  as  may  be  thought  proper,  may  meet  at  Philadelphia  at  the 
time  the  Representatives  are  convened,  in  order  to  consult  and 
advise  on  the  most  expedient  mode  of  appointing  Deputies  for 
the  General  Congress,  and  to  give  their  weight  to  such  as  may  be 
appointed. 

"The  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  in  a  very  obliging  and  ready 
manner,  has  agreed  to  comply  with  the  request  in  the  former  of  these 
propositions ;  but  we  are  now  informed  that,  on  account  of  the 
Indian  disturbances,  the  Governor  has  found  it  necessary  to  call  the 
Assembly  to  meet  in  their  legislative  capacity,  on  Monday,  July  18, 
being  about  the  same  time  the  Speaker  would  probably  have  invited 
them  to  a  conference  or  convention  in  their  private  capacity. 

"  What  we  have,  therefore,  to  request  is  that,  if  you  approve  of 
the  mode  expressed  in  the  second  proposition,  the  whole  or  a  part  of 
the  committee  appointed,  or  to  be  appointed,  for  your  county,  will 
meet  the  committees  from  the  other  counties  at  Philadelphia,  on 
Friday,  the  15  th  day  of  July,  in  order  to  assist  in  framing  instruc- 
tions, and  preparing  such  matters  as  may  be  proper  to  recommend 
to  our  Representatives  at  their  meeting  the  Monday  following. 

"We  would  not  offer  such  an  affront  to  the  well-known  public  spirit 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  to  question  your  zeal  on  the  present  occasion. 
Our  very  existence  in  the  rank  of  freemen,  and  the  security  of  all  that 
ought  to  be  dear  to  us,  evidently  depend  upon  our  conducting  this 
great  cause  to  its  proper  issue  with  firmness,  wisdom,  and  unanimity. 
We  cannot,  therefore,  doubt  your  ready  concurrence  in  every  meas- 
ure that  may  be  conducive  to  the  public  good  ;  and  it  is  with  pleasure 
that  we  can  assure  you  that  all  the  Colonies,  from  South  Carolina 
to  New  Hampshire,  seem  animated  with  one  spirit  in  the  common 
cause,  and  consider  this  as  the  proper  crisis  for  having   our  dif- 


S6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1774. 

ference  with  the  mother  country  brought  to  some  certain  issue,  and 
our  liberties  fixed  upon  a  permanent  foundation.  This  desirable  end 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  a  free  communion  of  sentiments  and 
a  sincere,  fervent  regard  to  the  interests  of  our  common  country. 

"  We  beg  to  be  favored  with  an  answer  to  this,  and  whether  the 
committee  from  your  county  can  attend  at  Philadelphia,  at  the  time 
proposed. 

Thomas  Willing,  Chairman.'''' 

On  this  letter  is  indorsed,  in  Joseph  Green's  handwriting,  the  fol- 
lowing: "At  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
the  township  of  Buffalo,  at  Loudowick  Derr's,  of  Saturday,  the  ninth 
of  July,  John  Lowdon,  Esquire,  and  Samuel  Maclay  were  chosen 
as  committee-men  to  meet  the  other  committee-men  from  the  other 
townships,  on  Monday,  the  nth  instant,  at  Richard  Malone's,  in 
order  to  choose  proper  persons  out  of  the  township  committees  to 
go  to  Philadelphia  to  the  general  meeting  of  the  committees  chosen 
by  the  respective  counties  of  this  Province  ;  and  likewise  to  fix  upon 
some  proper  way  and  means  to  correspond  with  the  other  commit- 
tees of  this  Province. 

"  By  order  of  the  meeting, 

Joseph  Green,  Clark.'" 

The  committees  that  met  on  the  nth,  at  Richard  Malone's, 
selected  William  Scull  and  Samuel  Hunter  to  represent  Northumber- 
land county,  at  the  Provincial  meeting,  at  Philadelphia.  This  meet- 
ing convened  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  at  Philadelphia,  on  Friday,  the 
15th  day  of  July  :  Thomas  Willing,  chairman,  and  Charles  Thomp- 
son, secretary.  William  Scull  was  of  the  committee  to  draft 
instructions  to  the  Assembly.  The  resolutions  were  as  follows, 
(Some  passed  unanimously,  indicated  by  "U;"  in  case  of  difference 
of  sentiment,  the  question  being  determined  by  the  Deputies  voting 
by  counties  :) 

"  U.  I.  That  we  acknowledge  ourselves  and  the  inhabitants  of 
this  Provmce  liege  subjects  of  His  Majesty  King  George  III,  to 
whom  they  and  we  owe  and  will  bear  true  and  faithful  allegiance. 

"  U.  2.  That  as  the  idea  of  an  unconstitutional  independence  of 
thi  jjarent  state  is  utterly  abhorrent  to  our  principles,  we  view  the 
unhappy  differences  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  with 


1774.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jj 

the  deepest  distress  and  anxiety  of  mind,  as  fruitless  to  her,  grievous 
to  us,  and  destructive  of  the  best  interests  of  both. 

"  U.  3.  That  it  is,  therefore,  our  ardent  desire  that  our  ancient 
harmony  with  the  mother  country  should  be  restored,  and  a  perpetual 
love  and  union  subsist  between  us,  on  the  principles  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  an  interchange  of  good  offices,  without  the  least  infraction 
of  our  mutual  rights. 

'  ■'  U.  4.  That  the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies  are  entitled  to  the 
same  rights  and  liberties  within  these  Colonies  that  the  subjects 
born  in  England  are  entitled  to  within  that  realm. 

"U.  5.  That  the  power  assumed  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain, 
to  bind  the  people  of  these  Colonies,  'by  statutes  in  all  cases  what- 
soever,' is  unconstitutional,  and,  therefore,  the  source  of  these 
unhappy  differences. 

"  U.  6.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up  the  port  of 
Boston  is  unconstitutional ;  oppressive  to  the  inhabitants  of  that 
town  ;  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  British  Colonies ;  and,  there- 
fore, that  we  consider  our  brethren  at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the 
common  cause 'of  these  Colonies. 

"  U.  7.  That  the  bill  for  altering  the  administration  of  justice,  in 
certain  criminal  cases,  within  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
if  passed  into  an  act  of  Parliament,  will  be  as  unconstitutional, 
oppressive,  and  dangerous  as  the  act  above  mentioned. 

"  U.  8.  That  the  bill  for  changing  the  constitution  of  the  Province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  established  by  charter,  and  enjoyed  since  the 
grant  of  that  charter,  if  passed  into  an  act  of  Parliament,  will  be 
unconstitutional,  and  dangerous  in  its  consequences  to  the  x^merican 
Colonies. 

"  U.  9.  That  there  is  an  absolute  necessity  that  a  Congress  of 
deputies  from  the  several  colonies  be  immediately  assembled,  to 
consult  together  and  form  a  general  plan  of  conduct  to  be  observed 
by  all  the  Colonies,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  relief  for  our  suffer- 
ing brethren,  obtaining  redress  of  our  grievances,  preventing  future 
dissensions,  firmly  establishing  our  rights,  and  restoring  harmony 
between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  on  a  constitutional  founda- 
tion. 

"  U.  10.  That  although  a  suspension  of  the  commerce  of  this 
large   trading  Province  with  Great  Britain  would  greatly  distress 


S8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1774. 

multitudes  of  our  industrious  inhabitants,  yet  that  sacrifice,  and  a 
much  greater,  we  are  ready  to  offer  for  the  preservation  of  our  liber- 
ties. But  in  tenderness  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  of 
this  country,  and  in  hopes  that  our  just  remonstrances  will  at  length 
reach  the  ears  of  our  gracious  Sovereign,  and  be  no  longer  treated 
with  contempt  by  any  of  our  fellow-subjects  in  England,  it  is  our 
earnest  desire  that  the  Congress  should  first  try  the  gentler  mode 
of  stating  our  grievances,  and  making  a  firm  and  decent  claim  of 
redress. 

"II.  Resolved  by  a  great  majority,  That  yet,  notwithstanding,  as 
an  unanimity  of  counsels  and  measures  is  indispensably  necessary 
for  the  common  welfare,  if  the  Congress  shall  judge  agreements  of 
non-importation  and  non-exportation  expedient,  the  people  of  this 
Province  will  join  with  the  other  principal  and  neighboring  Colonies 
in  such  an  association  of  non-importation  from  and  non-exportation 
to  Great  Britain,  as  shall  be  agreed  on  at  the  Congress. 

"12.  Resolved  by  a  majority,  That  if  any  proceedings  of  the  Par- 
liament, of  which  notice  shall  be  received  on  this  continent,  before 
or  at  the  General  Congress,  shall  render  it  necessary,  in  the  opinion 
of  that  Congress,  for  the  Colonies  to  take  further  steps  than  are  men- 
tioned in  the  eleventh  resolve,  in  such  case  the  inhabitants  of  this 
Province  shall  adopt  such  further  steps  and  do  all  in  their  power  to 
carry  them  into  execution. 

"U.  13.  That  the  venders  of  merchandise  of  every  kind  within  the 
Province,  ought  not  to  take  advantage  of  the  resolves  relating  to 
non-importation  in  this  Province  or  elsewhere,  but  they  ought  to 
sell  their  merchandise  which  they  now  have,  or  may  hereafter  im- 
port, at  the  same  rates  they  have  been  accustomed  to  do  within  three 
months  last  past. 

"  U.  14.  That  the  people  of  this  Province  will  break  off  all  trade, 
commerce,  and  dealing,  and  will  have  no  trade,  commerce,  or  deal- 
ing of  any  kind  with  any  Colony  on  this  continent,  or  with  any  city 
or  town  in  such  Colony,  or  with  any  individual  in  any  such  Colony, 
city,  or  town,  which  shall  refuse,  decline,  or  neglect  to  adopt  and 
carry  into  execution  such  general  plan  as  shall  be  agreed  to  in  Con- 
gress. 

"U.  15.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  member  of  this  committee  to 
promote  as  much  as  he  can  the  subscription  set  on  foot  in  the  sev- 


1774.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  J9 

eral  counties  of  this  Province  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  inhab- 
itants of  Boston. 

"  U.  i6.  That  this  committee  give  instructions  on  the  present 
situation  of  pubUc  affairs  to  their  Representatives  who  are  to  meet 
next  week  in  Assembly,  and  request  them  to  appoint  a  proper  num- 
ber of  persons  to  attend  a  congress  of  Deputies  from  the  several 
Colonies,  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  to  effect 
one  general  plan  of  conduct,  for  attaining  the  great  and  important 
ends  mentioned  in  the  ninth  resolve." 

The  instructions  are  too  long  to  be  copied.  They  commence,  how- 
ever, with  a  recital  that  the  dissensions  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  Colonies  commenced  some  ten  years  since,  and  arose  from  the 
power  claimed  by  Parliament  to  bind  the  people  of  the  Colonies  by 
statutes,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  when  from  local  circumstances 
they  could  not  be  represented  in  it.  The  object  of  the  convention 
of  Deputies  is  stated  to  be  to  obtain  a  renunciation  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  of  all  powers  under  the  statute  of  35  Henry  8th,  cap. 
2 — of  all  powers  of  internal  legislation,  of  imposing  taxes  or  duties, 
internal  or  external,  and  of  regulating  trade,  except  with  respect  to 
any  new  articles  of  commerce,  such  as  silk,  wine,  &c.,  which  the 
Colonies  may  hereafter  raise,  reserving  the  right  to  carry  these  from 
one  Colony  to  another;  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  all  statutes  for  quarter- 
ing troops  in  the  Colonies,  or  subjecting  them  to  any  expense  on 
account  of  such  troops;  of  all  statutes  imposing  duties  to  be  paid  in 
the  Colonies,  that  were  passed  at  the  accession  of  his  present 
Majesty,  or  before  this  time,  which-ever  period  shall  be  judged  most 
advisable  ;  of  the  statutes  giving  courts  of  admiralty  in  the  Colonies 
greater  power  that  the  courts  of  admiralty  have  in  England ;  of  the 
statutes  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  and  affecting  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  Offering,  in  case  this  was  agreed  to,  to  settle  a 
certain  annual  revenue  on  His  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  and 
to  satisfy  all  damages  done  to  the  East  India  Company — the  execu- 
tive powers  of  the  crown  to  retain  their  present  full  force  and  oper- 
ation, and  we  to  receive  all  manufactures  from  Great  Britain,  and 
in  case  of  war,  to  contribute  all  aid  in  our  power.  In  the  event  of 
a  refusal  of  these  terms,  agreements  of  non-importation  and  non- 
exportation  were  recommended,  "and  a  continual  claim  and  asser- 
tion of  our  rights." 


6o  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1774. 

These  proceedings  being  communicated  to  the  General  Assembly, 
it  took  up  and  promptly  (2 2d  July)  passed  a  resolution  "  that  there 
is  an  absolute  necessity  that  a  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the  several 
Colonies  be  held  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  to  consult  upon 
the  unhappy  state  of  the  Colonies,  and  to  form  a  plan  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  redress  of  American  grievances,  &c.,  and  for 
establishing  that  union  and  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Colonies  which  is  indispensably  necessary  to  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  both." 

During  this  year  Catherine  Smith,  widow  of  Peter  Smith,  com- 
menced building  a  grist  and  saw-mill  near  the  mouth  of  White  Deer 
creek,  which  she  completed  in  1775.     See  her  statement,  year  1785. 

5th  July,  Robert  Fruit  and  Thomas  Hewitt,  county  commissioners, 
at  the  request  of  I^udwig  Derr,  who  desired  to  borrow  money  from 
the  loan  office,  valued  the  land,  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
(now  the  site  of  Lewisburg,)  "  on  which  said  Derr  now  lives,  having 
a  grist  and  saw-mill,  dwelling-house  and  barn,  clear  upland  and 
meadow,  at  ^1,000,  Pennsylvania  currency."  On  7th,  their  sworn 
valuation  of  Robert  Clark's,  now  Judge  Hummel 's,  two  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres,  et  ai.,  dwelling-house,  and  barn,  was  jQa'^2'> 
Walter  Clark's,  (Slifer  place,)  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  acres, 
dwelling-house,  and  barn,  jQs^^'j  Aurand  mill  tract,  (now  Jenkins,) 
grist-mill,  two  pair  stones,  saw-mill,  dwelling-house,  and  barn,  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  acres,  at  ;£'joo. 

Buffalo  Oross-Roads  Presbyterian  Church. 

We  come  now  to  the  first  record  evidence  in  regard  to  Buffalo 
Cross-Roads  church.  December  17,  Edward  Shippen  and  Joseph, 
his  brother,  by  a  written  agreement,  on  the  application  of  some  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Buffalo  Valley,  agreed  to  give  a  lot  of  five  acres, 
to  be  laid  off  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the  Edward  Bonsall  tract, 
including  a  spring,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  meeting-house 
thereon  for  the  Presbyterian  congregation.  The  building  was 
probably  erected  the  ensuing  year.  The  only  clew  I  can  find  is  a 
receipt  among  my  grandfather's  papers  dated  December  23,  177S, 
to  William  Rodman  for  ten  pounds,  being  in  full  of  a  subscription 
lodged  in  his  hands  for  building  a  meeting-house  in  Buffalo  Valley, 


1774.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  6i 

signed  William  Clark,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  who  were  probably  the 
building  committee.  In  1797  the  Shippens  made  a  deed  to  Samuel 
Dale  and  David  Watson,  trustees  appointed  by  the  congregation  for 
that  purpose.  The  courses  and  distances  are  important,  as  the  land 
has  been  encroached  upon.  Beginning  at  a  white  oak;  thence  by 
land  then  vacant,  now  (1797)  said  to  belong  to  Francis  Zellers,  N. 
51°  E.  20  perches,  to  white  oak;  thence  S.  39°  E.  40;  thence  S. 
51°  W.  20;  thence  N.  39°  W.  40;  "for  the  use  of  such  person 
or  persons  who  now  are,  and  from  time  to  time  hereafter  shall  be, 
inhabitants  of  said  Valley,  members  of  and  forming  together  a 
Presbyterian  congregation,  to  have  a  meeting-house  for  worship  and 
a  place  of  burial  thereon,  and  for  no  other  purpose. ^^  Deed  book 
*'  C,"  page  81,  Union  county. 

It  seems  from  Doctor  Greer's  statement  that  the  church  received 
an  additional  grant  of  five  acres  adjoining,  of  the  "  Isaiah  Althouse"  t 
tract,  either  of  Henry  Vandyke  or  Francis  Zeller,  former  owners. ' 
The  old  church  was  accordingly  built  on  both  tracts  and  the  one  half 
on  land  now  claimed  by  Daniel  Reugler,  as  an  inspection  of  the  old 
foundation  will  show,  and  many  persons  were  buried  in  Mr.  Reugler's  , 
field.     The  Althouse  tract  was  patented  to  Henry  Vandyke,  14th  of 
December,   1774.     On  the  same  day  he  sold  off  to  Captain  John 
Foster   nineteen  acres  and  ninety-four  perches,  adjoining  Foster's. 
Henry  Vandyke's  will,  dated  i8th  October,  1782,  wills  his  mansion, 
farm  and  tan-yard  to  John.      John  and  Martha,  his  wife,  sell  to 
Francis  Zeller  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  acres.     This  would, 
therefore,  include  the  alleged  five  acres  given  to  the  church.     It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  Francis  Zeller  was  the  donor,  and  the 
addition  made  in  1789  to  the  building  was  put  on  that  part. 

Flavel  Clingan  says  "the  old  church  had  three  doors  and  nine 
windows,  one  immediately  behind  the  pulpit  and  two  on  each  of 
the  ends  and  sides.  Part  of  the  church  covered  where  the  present 
pulpit  is,  and  extended  out  into  the  fields  behind  the  present  church, 
that  it  was  put  on  the  line  of  the  two  grants  of  five  acres  each,  and 
the  careless  trustees  lost  five  acres  when  Mr.  Reugler  bought." 

Surveys,  &c. 

Among  the  surveys  made  this  year  in  "  Upper  Moreland,"  as 
Hartley  township  territory  was  then  called,  William  McMurray,  on 


62  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1774. 

the  3Tst  of  May,  surveyed  the  Jacob  Young  and  Conrad  Weiser 
tracts  j  also  Anthony  Fricker  and  Daniel  Levan  ;  June  2,  Philip 
Cole  tract,  adjoining  Jacob  Landis. 

In  this  year  William  McCandlish,  senior,  and  Samuel  Martin 
came  from  North  Britain,  and  settled  on  the  Billmyer  place,  after- 
wards Gebhart's,  and  the  place  now  owned  by  Joseph  Meixell's 
heirs ;  which  Martin  sold  to  George  May,  who  sold  it  to  Thomas 
Wilson,  (grandfather  of  Francis  Wilson,)  30th  July,  1793. 

James  Young  settled  on  the  place  now  owned  by  David  Gross,  in 
Union  township.  Isaac  Hanna,  a  gunsmith,  from  Lancaster,  bought 
it  in  1780  for  ;£6oo.     Three  hundred  and  nine  acres,  et  al. 

The  Weyland  place,  (now  George  F.  Miller,  Esquire,)  in  Kelly, 
was  valued  at  40^.  per  acre  by  witnesses. 

Tiizell's  Mill. 

I  St  of  December  is  the  date  of  the  deed  from  William  Robb  and 
Olive,  his  wife,  to  Henry  Titzell,  for  fifty  acres  on  Little  Buffalo 
creek,  the  mill  tract  now  owned  by  Jonas  Ranch,  in  White  Deer 
township.  The  mills  were  built  during  this  winter,  as  he  is  assessed 
in  1775  with  grist  and  sawmill.  Titzell's  mill  was  a  rendezvous 
during  the  Revolution,  and  a  station  of  the  defenders  of  the  fron- 
tiers. 

Titzell  never  returned  from  Cumberland  county  after  the  great 
runaway  of  1778,  ancl  we  find  Nagel  Gray,  of  Northampton  county, 
in  possession  in  1783,  and  a  conveyance  from  Titzell  to  Gray  on 
the  5th  of  May,  1 786.  Gray  died  the  same  year,  and  his  son  John 
took  the  tract,  who,  with  Jane  his  wife,  sold  to  George  Reniger  on 
the  iSth  of  April,  1796.  Reniger  failed,  and  it  went  by  the  name 
of  Kelly's  mills  for  a  long  time  after,  until  Mr.  Rauch's  purchase. 

Dealhs. 

Joseph  Rotten,  of  Buffalo,  died  this  year.  His  will  is  the  first 
one  recorded  at  Sunbury,  on  4th  August.  He  left  a  widow,  Mary, 
children,  Thomas,  Roger,  and  Elizabeth,  He  lived  up  Penn's 
creek,  near  White  springs.  Samuel  Mathers  and  James  McCoy 
witnessed  it. 

Thomas  McGuire  also  died  in  June.     He  left  a  son,  Francis. 


1774.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  63 


Major  Ennion  Wil/iains'  Journal. 

Ennion  Williams,  afterwards  major  of  Colonel  Miles'  rifle  regi- 
ment, kept  a  journal  of  a  trip  to  the  frontiers.  The  original  is  in 
possession  of  Captain  A.  H.  McHenry,  the  noted  surveyor  of  Jersey 
Shore,  from  which  I  extract : 

"October  19,  at  Fort  Augusta,  Messrs.  Scull,  Maclay,  Hunter, 
Troy,  &c.,  entertained  me  in  a  very  kind  and  friendly  manner. 
October  25,  started  for  Kishacoquillas  valley,  with  William  Foster; 
forded  the  river,  and  arrived  at  Wolfe's  tavern,  two  miles  from  Sun- 
bury,  (this  must  have  been  at  Shamokin  dam,)  where  I  took  sud- 
denly sick.  A  person  in  the  next  room  played  so  pleasantly  on  a 
violin,  and  with  such  an  effect,  I  was  soon  able  to  get  up.  We 
then  passed  through  a  level  country  to  Michael  Swingle's,  eight 
miles ;  thence  to  Is.  Dalton's,  on  Middle  creek.  The  land  here  is 
good.  We  lately  sold  it  for  ;^ioo  per  hundred  acres.  We  passed 
through  Potter's  tract,  which  is  very  fine  land,  and  John  Swift's 
land,  which  is  very  good.  Several  friends  settled  above  this.  The 
land  is  well  timbered — walnut,  black  oak,  and  maple — and  a  very 
pretty  valley,  called  Beaver  Dam  valley.  27th,  slept  at  Nathaniel 
Hazen's  on  a  chaff  bed  on  the  floor  ;  breakfast — elegant  milk,  butter, 
pumpkin  butter,  Indian  corn,  and  venison.  (Snyder  county  fare  in 
the  olden  time.)  Then  rode  nine  miles  through  a  valley  between 
Jack's  mountain  and  Limestone  ridge. 

"  We  crossed  the  run  on  which  is  our  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
acres,  with  a  mill  seat.  The  stream  is  now  pretty  large.  The  land  is 
stony,  but  very  well  timbered.  October  27,  Hazen  tells  me  that 
Reed  has  got  (within  this  twelve  months)  a  warrant  for  the  hundred 
and  fifty-nine  acres,  and  that  he  intends  to  build  a  mill  there,  in 
spite  of  any  person.  They  say  that  he  is  a  scheming  fellow,  and 
that  he  has  taken  out  warrants  for  other  person's  lands,  as  well  as 
ours.  We  dined  in  the  shade  of  a  tree,  screened  from  the  remark- 
able heat  of  the  sun,  and  fed  our  horses  on  a  blanket  near  a  run, 
and  eat  heartily  of  our  hard  cakes  and  solid  venison.  We  continued 
up  this  valley,  and  passed  by  some  good  bottoms,  with  poplar,  wal- 
nut, and  shelbark,  &c. ;  but  there  are  no  large  bodies  together. 
The  road  is  very  stony  for  several  miles,  yet  level,  and  the  land  well 
timbered. 


64  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1775. 

"  Foster's,  and  the  land  near  it,  is  very  good  wheat  land,  and  but 
little  meadow.  We  passed  in  sight  of  our  two  hundred  acres  on  a 
branch  of  Jack's  creek,  in  the  name  of  D.  Beveridge,  and  the  land 
near  is  very  good  meadow  ground."  The  D.  Beveridge  tract  he 
describes  as  situate  on  Mitchel  Springs,  which  empties  into  Jack's 
creek  about  two  miles  from  Kishacoquillas,  (probably  now  in  Deca- 
tur township,  Mifflin  county.) 

On  the  19th  of  July  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  from 
the  inhabitants  of  Northumberland  county,  stating  that  the  county 
was  but  thinly  inhabited,  and  had  within  the  limits  of  its  jurisdiction 
a  great  body  of  intruders  from  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  who 
refused  subjection  to  the  government,  and  that  they  found  them- 
selves unable  to  enforce  the  laws,  through  the  want  of  a  proper  goal ; 
whereupon  an  act  was  promptly  passed,  on  the  23d,  granting  ^800 
out  of  the  treasury  to  build  a  goal. 


i^r5- 


Pennsylvania  Convention — Assessment  List  of  Buffalo — Revolution- 
ary Struggle  Inaugurated — Roll  of  Captain  John  Lowdon's  and 
Captain  James  Parr's  Companies. 

fOHN  PENN,  Governor.  Samuel  Hunter,  member  of 
Assembly.  On  the  20th  of  May,  James  Potter  was  re- 
turned, and  took  his  seat  as  additional  member  of  Assem- 
bly. Samuel  Hunter  and  William  Plunket  presided  in 
turn  over  the  courts.  29th  July,  Samuel  Maclay,  Robert  Robb, 
John  Weitzel,  and  Henry  Antis,  Justices  of  the  Quarter  Sessions, 
&c.  March  1 7,  Alexander  Hunter  was  appointed  Collector  of  Excise, 
vice  Thomas  Lemmon.  12th  October,  William  Scull  was  commis- 
sioned Sheriff;  Samuel  Harris,  Coroner.  County  Commissioners, 
Casper  Reed,  William  Gray,  Esquire;  County  Assessors,  Paul  Ged- 
des,  George  Wolfe,  Joseph  Green,  James  McClure,  John  Weitzel, 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  65 

and  James  McClenachan.  Officers  of  Buffalo :  Constable,  Henryl 
Vandyke ;  Overseers,  John  Thompson  and  John  Aurand ;  Supervi- 
sors, Robert  Clark  and  Henry  Pontius. 

On  the  23d  of  January  the  convention  for  the  Province  of  Penn- 
sylvania assembled  at  Philadelphia,  and  continued  until  the  28th. 
William  Plunket,  Esquire,  and  Casper  Weitzel,  Esquire,  representing 
the  county  of  Northumberland. 

This  convention  approved  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  recommended  a  law  prohibiting  the  future  importation  of 
slaves  into  the  Province;  resolved  to  afford  all  necessary  assistance 
and  relief  in  case  the  trade  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  should  be  sus- 
pended in  consequence  of  the  struggle ;  that  it  was  the  earnest  wish 
to  see  harmony  restored  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies, 
but  in  the  event  the  former  should  determine  to  effect  a  submission 
by  force  to  the  late  arbitrary  acts  of  Parliament,  it  was  our  indis- 
pensable duty  to  resist  such  force,  and  at  every  hazard  to  defend  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  America. 

It  was  resolved  to  kill  no  sheep  under  four  years  old,  or  sell  such 
to  the  butchers,  and  the  setting  up  of  woolen  manufactures,  especi- 
ally for  coating,  flannel,  blankets,  rugs,  &c.,  was  recommended; 
also,  the  raising  of  madder  and  dye  stuffs,  flax  and  hemp,  making  of 
salt  and  saltpeter,  gunpowder,  nails  and  wire,  making  of  steel, 
paper,  setting  up  manufactures  of  glass,  wool,  combs,  cards,  copper 
in  sheets,  bottoms  and  kettles.  It  was  further  recommended  to  the 
inhabitants  to  use  the  manufactures  of  their  own  and  neighbor- 
ing Colonies,  in  preference  to  all  others ;  and  that  a  manufacturer  or 
vender  of  goods  who  should  take  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  the 
country  to  raise  prices  should  be  considered  an  enemy  to  his 
country. 

At  February  sessions,  Samuel  Maclay,  Henry  Pontius,  William 
Irwin,  and  William  Gray  reported  the  first  public  road  ever  laid  out 
by  order  of  court  through  the  Valley.  Haines'  road  ran  from 
Northumberland,  by  way  of  Dry  valley,  crossing  into  Limestone 
township  now,  and  along  Penn's  creek,  and  by  way  of  the  Narrows, 
into  Penn's  valley,  where  he  owned  large  tracts  of  land  about 
Aaronsburg  ;  but  this  was  a  private  enterprise.  His  four  mile  tree  is 
referred  to  as  a  landmark  ever  since  his  day,  standing  in  the  center 
of  the  Narrows.  The  road  we  now  speak  of  commenced  on  Lud- 
5 


66  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1775. 

wig  Derr's  land,  about  fifteen  perches  above  where  Christian  Het- 
rick*  now  lives,  at  a  hickory  on  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  ran  the  following  courses  and  distances  :  S.  85  °  W. 
742,  to  white  oak,  W.  156  post;  N.  85°  W.  80,  pine;  S.  85°  W. 
300;  S.  70°  W.-550,  pine;  S.  82°  W.  224,  black  oak;  S.  67°  W. 
174,  white  oak;  S.  74°  W.  138,  pine;  S.  49°  W.  138;  S.  62°  W. 
419;  S.  75°  W.  168;  S.  85°  W.  158,  white  oak;  N.  87^  W.  98; 
S.  71°  W.  136;  S.  85°  W.  266;  S.  75°  W.  116,  white  oak: 
twelve  miles  twenty-eight  perches.  After  protracting,  I  found  the 
course  to  correspond  with  the  site  of  the  road  as  described  by  old 
citizens,  viz  :  Leaving  the  river  at  Strohecker's  landing,  it  passed 
up  his  lane  and  by  an  old  house  that  formerly  stood  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  Adam  Gundy's  field ;  thence  along  the  line  "between 
John  G.  Brown  and  J.  M.  Linn,  or  near  it,  to  and  through  Mortons- 
ville,  through  or  by  the  site  of  Ellis  Brown's  new  house,  to  a  white 
oak  about  one  hundred  rods  west  of  his  house.  Thus  far  one  course. 
Thence  it  curved  about  the  hill,  and  ran  in  front  of  Frederick's,  where 
stood  the  pine ;  and  thence  by  Schrack's  it  ran  straight,  crossing  the 
present  turnpike  beyond  Biehl's  tavern.  It  then  ran  north  of  the 
turnpike  a  little  distance ;  thence  along  its  site  to  another  pine  which 
stood  near  where  the  Great  Western  hotel  now  stands ;  thence  it  fol- 
lowed the  turnpike  site  until  it  reached  its  terminus,  Avhere  the  Orwig 
mill  road  now  comes  out  upon  the  turnpike,  east  line  of  Jane 
Little  warrantee,  one  hundred  and  twenty  rods  west  of  the  offi- 
cers' survey.     It  was  ordered  to  be  opened  thirty-three  feet. 

Inhabitants  in  1775. 

It  appears,  from  a  memorandum  made  by  Daniel  Montgomery,  in 
1 781,  that  the  county  assessments  were  carried  off  to  Paxton  (Har- 
risburg)  in  1778,  and  those  of  1773,  1774,  and  1776  lost. 

The  following  list  is  copied  from  that  of  1775,  which  is  in  the 
handwriting  of  Joseph  Green,  grandfather  of  Joseph  Green,  of 
Lewisburg.  I  copy  it  in  full.  Matter  in  brackets  I  have  added. 
It  enumerates  the  acres  of  cultivated  land,  of  horses,  cows,  sheep, 
slaves,  and  servants  belonging  to  each  settler  : 

*Ui8naine  la  eometlmes  written  Esplg.  Hetrlck  resided  near  the  site  of  John 
.Strohecker's  present  residence.  He  was  afterwards  killed  by  the  Indians.  (See 
postL-a,  1781.) 


1775.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


(>7 


1 

e 

5 

s: 

1 

Allen,  Samuel 

Aurand,  Henry.  .  .  . 
Albright,  Jacob  .  .  . 
Aurand,  Jacob  .... 
Aurand,  Daniel. .  .  . 
Armstrong,  William 
Aurand,  John 

45 

15 
6 

4 
10 
18 
40 
12 

30 
10 

30 
20 

2 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

2 
2 
2 

I 
I 
2 

3 
3 

2 

I 
2 

Also  grist  and  saw- 

Books, George  .... 
Buchanan,  James.. 

3 

mill. 
[LateA.McClure's, 

now  Stolzfus.] 
A  new  settler. 

Burn,  Peter 

Beatty,  Alexander. . 

Bolender,  John .  . . 
Beatty,  Hugh 

Inmate  to  Thomas 

Bickel,  Henry 

Brunner,  Jacob. .  .  . 
Barnett,  Matthew. . 

10 

4 

r 

2 

2 
2 

Sutherland. 
[Now  Henry 

Mertz's.] 
Tenant  on   James 

Bolender,  Henry.  . 

15 

20 
4 

30 

50 

6 

50 

Bremmer's  land. 
Tenant   of    James 

Baker,  Wendell. .  .  . 

2 

I 

2 

2 

I 

2 

2 

I 

2 

2 

2 

2 

I 

Bremmer. 
[D.  H.  Kelly's.] 

Bashor,  John 

[N.    W.    of    New 

Baker,  Jacob 

Brundage,  Joseph. . 
Black,  Thomas .... 

•  •  • 

Columbia.] 
[Hoffman's,  above 

Datisman's.] 
Stahl's      saw-mill. 

^  Boveard,  James  .  . 

[n'r  Union  ch.] 
[Isaac  Eyre,  sr.] 

Boveard,  William, 

Inmate    to    James 

Bower,  Casper  .... 

Brosius,  John 

Boone,  Hawkins.  .  . 
Bennett,  William.  . 

10 
10 
20 

3 
12 

T7 

2 
2 

I 

I 
I 

I 

2 
2 

I 
I 

I 
2 

6 

7 

Boveard. 

And  grist-mill   on 

Blythe,  William.  .  . 
Bennett,  William, jr. 

3 

land   belonging 

to  Wm.  Blythe. 

On   Wm.  Blythe's 

Blue,  Frederick. ...     lo 
Brown, Matthew.  .  .    60 

land. 

'  Boveard  is  marked  a  free  man,  which,  under  Markham's  charter,  indicated  an 
elector's  qualification.  "No  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  an  elector,  or  ol' being 
elected,  unless  of  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  have  fifty  acres  of  land,  ten  whereof 
being  seated  or  cleared,  or  be  otherwise  worth  X50,  clear  estate,  and  have  been 
resident  within  the  government  two  years  before  such  election." 


68 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1775. 


Cornell,  Abraham, 
Clark,  William.  .  .  . 

Cole,  Philip 

Clarke,  John 

Crawford,  Edward, 

Clark,  Walter 

Clark,  William. .  .  . 
Clippies,  David. .  .  . 
Cooper,  Robert  .  .  . 

Cook,  Henry 

Caldwell,  Hugh.  .  . 
Clark,  Robert  .  .  . 
Carson,  James. .  .  . 
Correy,  Robert .... 
Carter,  William. .  .  . 
Coon,  Nicholas. .  .  . 
Ditelman,  Peter  .  .  . 


Duchman,  Stephen, 


Doudrick,  John. 
Derr,  Ludwig.  . 
Dale,  Samuel  . . 
Doty,  Levi .... 
Davis,  John. .  .  . 
Deats,  Morris.  . 
Deats,  David.  . 
Dale,  Christian, 
Derr,  Yost 


-^ 


15 

25 

50 

5 

60 

50 
10 


7 
35 
60 


15 

10 

2 


10 

3 
30 

i° 
15 


Duncan,  David, 
Daniel,  Adam.  . 


Emerick,  David 


Evey,  Adam 1  30 

Etsweiler,  George. .  I   15 


5 

36 

2 

15 


I 

4 

I  I  2 
I  1  I 


10 
2 


•A 

^ 

"3 

fi 

^ 

k 

s: 

p"^ 

•o 

•0 

[Coryell  ?] 

[Hartleton.] 

[He  lived  on  the 
first  farm  above 
Mififlinburg  ;  the 
name  of  his  slave 
was  "Mel."] 

Lives  with  William 
Bennett  &  crops 
on  the  shares. 


Inmate  to  John 
Kelly. 

Poor ;  [lived  where 
late  Jno.Schrack, 
Esquire,   lived.] 

Lives  on  Derr's 
land. 

[Adam  Young's.] 

Grist  and  saw-mill. 


Is  a  mason ;  lives 
at  Abel  Reese's. 

Lives  on  Peter 
Wilson's  place, 
[now  Jas.  Law- 
son,  Esquire's.] 

Lives  on  L.  Derr's. 

Tenant  on  Colonel 
Francis',  below 
Grove's,  [now 
W.  T.  Linn's.] 

[Widow  Brown's 
tavern  in  Union 
township.] 

On  Simon  Snithers' 
land. 


1775.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


6c, 


Eaken,  John. . . 
Elder,  Thomas  . 
Eyer,  Abraham. 
Evey,  Christian . 
Farren,  James. 


4 

12 

5 
Fought,  Jonas !   20 


^ 


Fought,  Michael. .  . 
Frederick,  George.. 
Frederick,  Peter.  .  . 
Foster,  John,  senior. 

Fought,  Jacob 

Foster,  William. .  .  . 
Foster,  John,  junior, 
Fleming,  James.  .  . 

Fruit,   Robert 

Fisher,  John 

Fisher,  Christian .  . . 
Fought,  Conrad.  .  . 
Fisher,   Samuel .... 

Fulton,  John 

Fleming,  Hans. . . . 

Filey,  John 

Green,  Joseph 

Glen,  Andrew 

Greenlee,  William. . 
Grochang,  Jacob .  . 
Gundy, Christ.,  Van 

Gray,  William 

Gibson,  Andrew. .  . 
Green,  Ebenezer. .  . 
Graham,  Edward.  . 
Graham,  Thomas .  . 
Groninger,  Leonard 
Grove,  Michael. ,  .  . 

Huston,  John 

Haines,  George. .  .  . 
Hessler,  Michael. .  . 

Hessler,  John 

Hunter,  Samuel,  .  . 
Hamilton,  Robert. . 
Hoy,  Philip 


13 
13 

20 
40 


60 
10 

3 
10 


5 

3 
15 
15 
35- 
30 
10 
10 

49 

10 

60 
100  \ 

10 
100 

4 
10 
20 

8 

30 
6 

5 

10 
28 
12 


^ 


G 


02 


On  Rob.  Clark's. 

Living  on  James 
Fleming's,  (late 
James  Dale's.) 

[South  Chap.  Hoi 

low.] 
Lives  with  Jonas. 
^  [These  two  lived 
j    at   Cross  Roads 

on  McCreight's.] 


[Datisman's.J 
[White  Deer  mills.] 

Ferry. 

Up  Black's  run. 


[Afterwards  Emer- 

ick's.] 
[Heberhng's.] 

[Paul  Geddes.] 
Ferry. 


Ferry. 

Grist  and  saw  mill. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


1775.] 


Hiney,  Hieronimus 
Hiltman,  John. . .  . 

Heckel,  Andrew.  . 
Hammond,  David. 
Hammond,  James. 
Hunter,  James. . . . 
Hutchinson,  Thos. 
Hood,  Elizabeth. . 
Harbster,  David.  . 
Huling,  Marcus.  . 
Irwin,  William.  . . 
Iterburn,  Jacob. .  . 
Johnston,  Alex , . . 

Jordan,  William.  .  . 

Klinesmith,  Baltzer, 


Kilday,  John 

Keen,  Jacob 

Kelly,  Lawrence.  , 
Leonard  Peter, . . , 

Lee,  John 

Leech,  William .  . . 
Lewis,  Daniel . : . . 
Laughlin,  Samuel , 
Links,  Jacob .... 
Low,  Cornelius. . 
Leas,  Nicholas. . . 
Low,  William. .  . 


Luckens,  Thomas. 
Lowdon,  John. .  .  . 
Miller,  Benjamin. . 
McKelvey,  James, 
Moore,  James.  . .  . 


McCashon,  John. . 
Miller,  Frederick, 
Miller,  Jacob 


7 
6 

2 

3 

ID 

40 
50 
50 
20 

5 
24 

5 
20 

20 

15 

10 

5 


15 

20 

35 
9 
30 
25 
40 


25 
50 


4 

25 

7 

5 
2 


to 


»-^^ 

^ 


Capt  Irwin's  place. 
[John  Beeber's,  on 

Buffalo.] 
[Doctor  Dougal's.] 


[Little     Buffalo 
creek.] 


Lives  on  George 
Cribble's  land. 

[William  Stadden's 
White  Deer.] 

Lives  on  George 
Shultz's  land. 

On  John  Reed's, 
[mouth  of  White 
Deer  creek.] 

On  Dr.  Wiggins' 
land,  [now  Ma- 
jor Simonton's.] 

Freeman. 

Adjoining  William 

Clark's. 
On    John     Boal's 

land,  on  White 

Deer  creek. 
New  settler. 

Lives  on  James 
Thom's  land. 

On  Joseph  Green's 
land. 

Lives  on  Abram 
Cribble's  land, 
[de  Haas'  large 
tract.] 


1775.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


71 


Maclay,  Samuel  . 
Moor,  William. . . 
Myers,  Henry.  . . 
McCoy,  James . . 
Mathers,  Samuel . 
Mitchell,  John .  . 
McCandlish,  Wm 


Martin,    Samuel. 


McClure,  Thomas. 
Moore,  Thomas.  . 


Moore,  Henry  .... 
Martin,  Robert.  .  . 
McLaughlin,  James, 
McGinnet,  Charles . 
McMahan,  Patrick. 
Mackey,  William .  . 
McClenachan,  Jas. . 
Mason,  William.  .  . 
McComb,  John .... 
McGrady,  Alex. .  . . 
McClung,  John.  .  .. 
Martin,  George.  .  . . 
McCloud,  William. 
McDonald,  Randall 

Nees,  John 

Norcross,  John 


Nobel,  Robert 

Norconk,  Daniel. .  . 
Overmeier,    George 

Poak,  James 

Patton,  Hugh 

Pearson,  Benjamin.. 

Pontius,  John 

Pontius,  Henry. . . . 


25 

6 
15 

12 
16 


15 


6 

10 
9 
9 

80 


10 

20 
20 
10 


3 
40 
40 
10 

25 
20 

15 


G 


ts 


Slave  aged  20. 


[John  Lesher  lives 
on  site  of  Mc- 
Candlish's  resi- 
dence.] 

[Now  farm-house 
of  Joseph  Meix- 
ell's  heirs.] 

On  William  Arm- 
strong's land, 
[south  of  New 
Columbia.] 

At  Thos.  Moore's. 

New  settler. 


New  settler. 

On  Thos.  Hutchin- 


Lives  with  John 
Hiltman. 

Lives  on  Robt.  Mc- 
Corley's  land. 

On  J.  Thompson's. 

[Near  New  Colum- 
bia.] 


72 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1775. 


Pontius,  Andrew. .  .  | 

Reed,  William 

Reese,  Abel 

Rearick,  John 

Rinehard,  George. . 

Reed,  John 

Rote,  George 

Reasoner,  John .... 
Rorbaugh,  George.. 
Redmond,  John .  .  . 
Sutherland,  Thomas 
Storms,  Christian .  . 

Sierer,  John 

Smith,  Adam   

Snyder,  Michael .  .  . 


Scott,  John 

Shively,  Christian, 
Smith,  David. . .  . 


Shively,  John, 
Seller,  Peter , . 


Sips,  Joseph. 


Swartz,   Peter 

Stover,  Philip 

Smith,  Catherine..  , 
Sutherland,  Daniel. , 

Smith,  John , 

Steen,  Alexander. . 
Speddy,  William.  . 
Shoemaker,  Peter.  , 
Shaw,  Hamilton .  . 


15 
20 

40 

15 

15 

3 
30 

3 


2 
20 

30 
60 
10 
15 


15 
8 

7 


20 

20 

10 

3 

50 
4 

25 


CO 


Co       CO 


New  settler. 
Living  at  Ludwig 
Derr's. 


[In  Limestone,  his 
gr'd  children  still 
occupy  the  old 
place,  near  White 
springs.] 

On  Rob't.  Barber's 
land. 

[The  first  miller, 
at  Barber's  lit- 
tle mill,  called 
Smith's  mill,  for 
many  years.] 

[  Afterwards  cap- 
tured by  the  In- 
dians,on  Esquire 
Lincoln's  place. 
He  never  came 
back.] 

[Lived  on  late  farm 
of  D.  Henning.] 

[  Hon.  George  F. 
Miller's  place.  ] 

[White  DeerMills.] 

New  settler. 


1775.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


73 


^ 

^ 

1 

1 

Sample,  John 23 

Sample,  Robert           - 

I 

I 

3 

I 

I 
2 

2 

3 
6 

2 

I 

Living  on  JasMc- 
Clenachan's. 

On   John  Foster's 

land. 
On  Ludwig  Derr's. 
William  Clark's. 

Dreisbach,  Martin.. 
Dreisbach,   Jacob.  . 
Dreisbach,  Henry.. 

Townson,   C 

Templeton,  Ann.  .  . 
Thompson,  John.  .. 
Thomas,  James     .  . 

30 

16 

5 
60 

I 

Thornbury,  Thomas 



I 
I 

I 
2 

2 
3 

I 

3 

I 

2 

2  _^ 

2 

2 

2 

Tate,  John 

Tate,  Joseph 

Titzell,  Henry 

Thom,  James 

Thompson,  Robert . . 
Tavler,  Joseph 

Varner,  Daniel 

50 
50 
4 
10 
12 

I 
30 

6 

2 

I 
2 

I 
2 

I 

2 

3 

I 

2 

1 
2 

Grist  and  saw-mill. 

« 

Freeman  on  John 

Lowdon's. 
New  settler. 

Vandyke,  Henry. .  . 
Wilson,  John        .    . 

[Now  Jackson  Ri- 
shel's.] 

On  Robert  Barber's 

4 

• 

Wilson,   Matthew.. 

Wilson,  Peter 

Wolfe,  George .  .  . 
VVelker,  Leonard. .  . 

Wise,  Jacob 

Watson     Patrick 

6 

30 

40 

15 
20 

7 

8 
20 
20 

's' 

20 

3 
25 

8 

50 
^5 

ID 

Wierbaugh,  John  .  . 
Williams,  George .  . 

Watson,  Hugh 

Wolfe,  Andrew 

2 
2 
2 

I 

"y 
2 
I 
2 
2 
2 
I 
I 
2 

3 

2 
2^ 

I 

5 
I 

I 

3 

2 

2 

3 

I 

I 

3 

land. 
LudwigDerr's  land. 
New  settler. 

Weyland,  George .  . 

Weeks,  Joseph 

Wertz     Dietrich 

Wilson,  William 

[Now  Rev.  J.  Ro- 
denbaugh's.] 

[Dry  valley.] 
On  Wm.  Blythe's. 

Young,  Matthew.  .. 

Young,   James 

Young,  Samuel .... 
Kennedy,  Samuel .  . 
Kennedy,  John .... 

Anderson, Thomas . . 
Rodman,  William .  . 

12 

]    60 

74 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1775. 


Row,  Joseph . . . 
Johnston,  John. 
Wildgoose,  Michael 
Glover,  John . . 


«-5 

^ 

^ 

CO 

V 

30 

I 

I 

8 

1 

I 

4 

I 

I 

5 

2 

2 

Whole  number  of  acres  cultivated  in  the  Valley,  four  thousand 
three  hundred  and  eighty-three ;  total  horses,  three  hundred  and 
forty  ;  cows,  four  hundred  and  fourteen  ;  sheep,  one  hundred  and 
forty-one ;  taxable  inhabitants,  two  hundred  and  sixty  ;  six  grist  and 
saw-mills,  and  five  slaves. 

In  the  summer  of  1873,  John  Lesher  tore  down  the  old  house, 
known  many  years  as  Billmyer's  tavern,  and  afterwards  as  "  Geb- 
hart's."  On  taking  off  the  more  modern  weather-boards,  a  log  build- 
ing, about  forty-four  feet  square,  was  disclosed.  In  the  logs  were 
marks  of  arrows,  and  many  bullet  holes.  Between  the  flooring  he 
found  a  shingle,  on  which  was  written,  "James  Taler ;  built,  1775," 
the  name,  no  doubt,  of  the  carpenter,  as  William  McCandlish  was 
the  owner.  William  McCandlish  died  in  the  fall  of  1783,  and  it  was 
sold,  in  1784,  to  Andrew  Billmyer,  (grandfather  of  Philip  Bill- 
myer,  of  Lewisburg,)  who  sold  it  on  the  21st  of  May,  181 2,  to 
Philip  Gebhart.  It  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  people  in 
the  lower  end  of  the  Valley  during  the  subsequent  Indian  troubles, 
1776-1783. 

In  1 81 5,  Michael  Shirtz's  deposition  was  taken,  in  a  suit  between 
John  Hoy  and  John  Stees.  He  said  he  came  to  live  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  1775.  That  the  land  in  dispute  between  them  was  then 
occupied  by  Michael  Snyder,  (east  end  of  Peter  Wolfe's  warrantee.) 
He  had  cleared  eight  or  nine  acres  and  had  grain  in.  It  adjoined 
what  was  called  the  "  Switzer  tract,"  surveyed  in  the  warrantee 
name  of  John  James  LeRoy,  and  between  it  and  the  Limestone 
ridge.  Snyder  occupied  it  until  the  country  was  drove  by  the  In- 
dian, 1778  and  1779.  After  that,  Martin  Rinehart  bought  the  land, 
and  sold  part  to  Andrew  Pontius  and  part  to  Christopher  Boohave, 
(Bogenreif.)  That  the  first  year  the  settlers  returned  after  the  war, 
he  saw  Andrew  Pontius  in  possession  of  it,  inclosed  in  fence  and 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


75 


grain  growing  upon  it.  The  latter  sold  to  John  Stees.  The 
deponent  moved  to  the  territory  of  Ohio  in  1800. 

In  the  spring  of  1775,  Yost  Hoffman,  of  Lancaster  county,  black- 
smith, bought  of  Jacob  Baker,  the  place  next  above  Datisman's. 
His  descendants  still  occupy  it.  John  Forsyth,  a  deputy  for  Wil- 
liam Maclay,  made  quite  a  number  of  surveys  this  year.  These 
and  other  surveys  are  noted,  because  they  show  what  lands  were  yet 
unsettled.  The  Richard  Manning  for  John  Lee,  on  the  river  next 
above  the  Proprietaries,  in  Monroe  township  now.  25th  March, 
the  addition  to  John  Foster's  order,  in  the  name  of  John  Umstead, 
near  Farmersville.  29th,  Jacob  Long's,  a  little  north-east  of  Har- 
tleton.  31st  March,  1775,  took  Daniel  Long's  note  for  surveying 
fee,  ^2  \os.  The  William  Kelly,  on  Buffalo  mountain,  ist  April. 
Jacob  Haines,  in  Union,  lately  owned  by  Major  Gibson,  6th  May. 
Aaron  Levy  on  Buffalo  mountain.  "North  line  open,"  he  says. 
No  wonder  subsequent  surveyors  could  not  find  it. 

1 2th  July,  Nehemiah  Breese,  of  Sunbury,  surveyed  the  John 
Sneagon  tract,  now  Chappel's  Hollow,  then  called  Haverly's  gap. 
Whoever  tabled  his  notes,  (he  died  not  long  after,)  and  made  the 
return  of  survey,  made  the  N.  20°  W.  line  from  the  pine  one  hun- 
dred perches,  instead  of  sixty,  to  chestnut,  which  produced  a  great 
dispute  afterwards  between  Abraham  Eyer  and  John  Brown. 

1 2th  August,  Breese  surveyed  the  Thomas  Smith  tract  for  Joseph 
Green,  on  which  the  latter  built  his  mill,  latterly  known  as  Bellas', 
on  Penn's  creek,  below  White  spring.  He  says,  not  finding  the  ad- 
joining surveyed  line  on  the  west  of  Craig's  survey,  to  extend  by  the 
supposed  adjoining  lands,  to  include  the  above  quantity  to  post, 
thence  an  open  line  by  vacant  land,  to  make  the  beginning.  One 
Nees  lived  on  the  west  of  this  open  line.  When  Green's  land  was  sold 
at  sheriff's  sale,  in  August,  1784,  it  was  supposed  to  include  Nees' 
improvement,  and  so  sold  by  Mr.  Awl,  who  bought  at  the  sheriff's 
sale,  to  Badger,  so  that  twenty  acres  now  owned  by  Miller,  Smith, 
and  others,  near  White  spring,  has  been  occupied,  bought  and  sold 
over  and  over  again  for  a  century,  without  any  title  from  the  Com- 
monwealth. 

27th  August,  he  surveyed  a  small  island  for  Martin  Trester, 
nearly  opposite  his  house,  and  another  one  half  mile  below  his  house. 


76  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1775. 

24th,  the  Joseph  Green,  south  of  Captain  T.  Green.  8th  September, 
Robert  Martin,  on  north  branch  of  Buffalo  creek.  8th  September, 
the  Thomas  Graham,  adjoining  McClenachan,  in  White  Deer,  west 
of  George  Leiser's. 

PhiHp  Seebold  informed  me  (1872)  that  George  Overmeier, 
senior,  John  Rearick,  Christian  Shively,  and  Micliael  Focht  were 
brothers-in-law.  Overmeier  settled  near  where  Mr.  Seebold  still 
.lives;  Shively,  at  the  mouth  of  White  Spring  run;  Rearick,  near 
Wehr's  tavern;  Focht,  in  Dry  valley;  and  added  the  singular  fact, 
that  he,  Seebold,  owned  at  one  time  the  Overmeier,  Rearick,  and 
Focht  homesteads.  He  is  a  grandson  of  George  Overmeier.  Con- 
rad Sharp  settled  upon  his  tract,  in  Union  township,  west  of  Joseph 
Shannon. — See  case  reported,  4  Yeates,  266. 

The  Revolutionary  Struggle  inaugurated. 

SuNBURY,  20th  April,  1775. 

Gentlemen  :  The  time  is  at  hand  when  the  spirit  of  Americans 
that  love  liberty  and  constitutional  principles  will  be  put  to  the 
trial.  What  has  been  by  them  in  their  different  resolves  avowed 
must,  perhaps,  at  last  be  p.ut  in  execution.  The  late  alarming  news 
just  received  from  England  (which  we  may  depend  upon)  informs 
that  the  British  Parliament  are  determined  by  force  to  put  in  execu- 
tion every  of  their  supreme  edicts,  as  they  style  them,  together  with 
their  late  oppressive  acts,  which  we  have  so  long,  and  with  so  little 
or  no  effect,  hitherto  complained  of.  We  consider  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  have  a  general  meeting  of  the  whole  county,  in  order  to  form 
some  regular  plan,  in  conjunction  with  our  countrymen,  to  give 
every  opposition  to  impending  tyranny  and  oppression,  either  by 
force  or  otherwise.  The  time  of  meeting,  we  think,  will  be  best  on 
the  first  day  of  May  next,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  the 
place  most  convenient,  at  Vandyke's,  near  Beaver  run,  in  Buffalo 
Valley.  We  do,  therefore,  earnestly  request  that  you  will  immedi- 
ately, on  the  receipt  hereof,  in  the  most  expeditious  manner,  notify 
the  inhabitants  of  your  township  of  this  matter,  and  insist  on  their 
attendance  without  fail  there  on  that  day.  The  place  of  meeting  is 
such  where  we  cannot  expect  much  accommodation.     It  will  be. 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  77 

therefore,  necessary  that  every  man  should  provide  for  himself.    We 
are  your  humble  servants. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  committee. 

Cas.  Weitzel. 

Directed  to  John  Lowdon,  Esquire,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Maclay,  in 
Buffalo  Valley. 

Philadelphia,  y?^«^  15,  1775. 

Gentlemen:  Inclosed  are  resolves  of  Congress  which  we  have 
transmitted  to  you,  and  request  you  will  use  your  utmost  diligence 
to  have  as  many  of  the  best  marksmen  procured  to  enlist  as  fast  as 
possible.  They  are  wanting  for  immediate  service  at  Boston,  and 
we  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  the  spirit  of  our  people  of  this  Prov- 
ince will  induce  them  without  delay  to  enter,  into  so  glorious  a 
service.  You  will  please  to  consult  with  gentlemen  of  knowledge 
and  interest,  as  you  can,  (though  not  of  your  committee,)  for  the 
more  speedy  raising  of  the  men,  and  let  us  know  your  sentiments 
relative  to  such  gentlemen  as  may  be  proper  for  officers,  and  such 
as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  men.  We  hope  the  counties  will  advance 
any  moneys  necessary,  as  they  shall  shortly  be  repaid  by  Congress. 
The  honor  of  Pennsylvania  is  at  stake,  and  we  have  not  the  least 
doubt  but  that  every  nerve  will  be  exerted,  not  only  collectively 
but  individually,  to  carry  this  matter  into  instant  execution.  You 
will  see  by  the  attestation  to  be  signed  by  the  men,  they  are  to  serve 
one  year,  unless  sooner  discharged.  This  may  seem  inconvenient, 
as  the  enlistments  will  be  in  one  day.  The  intention  is  to  discharge 
on  the  first  day  of  July,  1776,  unless  their  service  may  not  be  want- 
ing so  long,  according  to  the  attestation;  which  may  possibly  happen 
to  be  the  case,  and  they  may  be  discharged  this  fall.  Let  the  com- 
mittees or  officers  give  certificates  for  any  moneys  necessary  for  the 
service  which  the  Congress  will  discharge.  It  is  expected  that 
Cumberland  will  raise  two  companies,  York  one,  Lancaster  one, 
Northampton  one,  and  Northumberland  and  Bedford  one. 

You  will  keep  the  resolves  of  Congress  as  secret  as  the  nature  of 
the  case  will  admit,  that  the  arrival  of  the  men  at  Boston  may  be  the 
first  notice  General  Gage  has  of  this  matter. 

The  pay  of  the  officers  is  on  the  establishment  of  the  whole  army ; 
but  we  beg  leave  to  assure  the  officers  that  our  interest  will  be 


7<?  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1775. 

exerted  with  our  Assembly  to  tlie  utmost  to  have  an  addition  to 
their  pay,  so  as  to  be  equal  to  the  pay  of  officers  of  the  same  rank 
in  the  Pennsylvania  service  last  war. 

We  are,  with  esteem,  gentlemen,  your  most  humble  servants, 
Thomas  Willing,  John  Dickinson, 

James  Wilson,  Thomas  Mifflin, 

Charles  Humphreys,  George  Ross. 

John  Morton, 

In  Congress,  y«««?  14,  1775. 

Resolved,  That  six  companies  of  expert  riflemen  be  immediately 
raised  in  Pennsylvania,  two  in  Maryland,  and  two  in  Virginia. 
That  each  company,  as  soon  as  conpleted,  shall  march  and  join  the 
army  near  Boston,  to  be  there  employed  as  light  infantry  under  the 
command  of  the  chief  officer  in  that  army.  That  the  pay  of  the 
officers  and  privates  be  as  follows : 

A  captain,  at  20  dollars  per  M. 

A  lieutenant,  at  135/^  dollars  per  M. 

A  sergeant,  at  8  dollars  per  M. 

A  corporal,  at  7  ^  dollars  per  M. 

A  drummer,  at  7  J/^  dollars  per  M. 

A  private,  at  dyz  dollars  per  M. 

To  find  their  own  arms  and  clothes. 

That  the  form  of  enlistment  be  in  the  following  words : 

I  have  this  day  voluntarily  enlisted  myself  as  a  soldier  in  the 
American  Continental  army  for  one  year,  unless  sooner  discharged, 
and  do  bind  myself  to  conform  in  all  instances  to  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  are  or  shall  be  established  for  the  government  of  the 
said  army. 

Charles  Thompson,  Secretary. 

True  copy:  Cas.  Weitzel,  Secretary. 

On  this  paper  is  indorsed  the  following:  "July  i,  1775,  Corne- 
lius Daugherty  enlisted,  this  day,  Robert  Tuft,  Edward  Masters, 
James  Garson,  George  Saltsman,  Robert  Rickey,  Thomas  Gilston, 
Robert  Liney,  Robert  Carothers,  John  Hamberton,  Michael  Hare," 
lA  Joseph  Green's  handwriting. 

I  have  a  copy  of  Captain  Lowdon's  commission,  which  is  still  in 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  yq 


possession  of  Samuel  Wright,  at  Columbia,  furnished  by  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  Thomas  Barber's  son,  who  was  at  school  there.     It  reads : 

In  Congress  :  The  Delegates  of  the  United  Colonies  of  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the  counties  of  New  Castle, 
Kent,  and  Sussex,  in  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  South  Carolina: 

To  John  Low  don.  Esquire : 

We,  reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  your  patriotism, 
valor,  conduct,  and  fidelity,  do,  by  these  present,  constitute  and 
appoint  you  to  be  captain  of  a  company  of  riflemen  in  the  bat- 
talion commanded  by  Colonel  William  Thompson,  in  the  army  of 
the  United  Colonies,  raised  for  the  defense  of  American  liberty, 
and  for  repelling  any  hostile  invasion  thereof.  You  are,  therefore, 
carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  captain,  by  doing 
and  performing  all  manner  of  things  thereunto  belonging.  And 
we  do  strictly  charge  and  require  all  officers  and  soldiers  under 
your  command  to  be  obedient  to  your  orders  as  captain ;  and  you 
are  to  observe  and  follow  such  orders  and  directions,  from  time  to 
time,  as  you  shall  receive  from  this  or  a  future  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted Colonies,  or  committee  of  Congress  for  that  purpose  appointed, 
or  commander-in-chief  for  the  time  being  of  the  army  of  the  United 
Colonies,  or  any  other  superior  officer,  according  to  the  rules  and 
discipline  of  war,  in  pursuance  of  the  trust  reposed  in  you.  This 
commission  to  continue  in  force  until  revoked  by  this  or  a  future 
Congress. 

By  order  of  Congress. 

John  Hancock,  President. 
Attest :  Charles  Thompson,  Secretary. 

Philadelphia,  y//;«^  25,  1775. 

Roll  of  Captain  John  Lowdon's   Company,  First  Rifle  Regiment, 
Commanded  by  Colonel  William  Thompson. 

Captain — Lowdon,  John. 
First  Lieutenant — Parr,  James. 
Second  Lieutenant — Wilson,  James. 


8o  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1775. 

Third  Lieutenant — Wilson,  William ;  promoted  second  lieu- 
tenant January  4,  1776. 

Third  Lieutenant — Dougherty,  John  ;  appointed  January  4,  1776. 

Sergeants — Hammond,  David ;  McCormick,  Alexander ;  Mc- 
Murray,  William ;  Dougherty,  Cornelius. 

Corporals — Henry,  Thomas ;  Edwards,  William ;  Dougherty, 
Cornelius;  White,  John,  died  January,  8,  1776;  Carson,  James ; 
Cochran,  Charles. 

Drummer — Grosvenor,  Richard. 

Privates — Adkins,  William;  All,  Joseph,  discharged  July  31, 
1775  ;  Bernickle,  John,  afterwards  sergeant  in  the  German  regi- 
ment ;  Brady,  Samuel,  afterwards  captain  lieutenant  Eighth  Penn- 
sylvania; Briggs,  William;  Butler,  John,  discharged  January  25, 
1776;  Calhoun,  William;  Carothers,  Robert;  Carson,  James, 
advanced  to  corporal,  January  4;  Casaday,  John;  Cealy,  Samuel; 
Clements,  David ;  Cochran,  Charles,  advanced  to  corporal  January 
8,  discharged  July  i,  1776,  living  in  Crawford  county  in  1819; 
Condon,  Peter ;  Davis,  David ;  Dean,  John ;  Eicholtz,  John,  residing 
in  Lancaster  in  1813;  Evans,  John;  Finkboner,  Jacob;  Ford, 
Charles  ;  Garson,  James ;  Ginter,  Philip  ;  Gilston,  Thomas  ;  Hamil- 
ton, John  ;  Harris,  David  ;  Hare,  Michael ;  Hempington,  Thomas  ; 
Henning,  Christopher  ;  Humber,  William;  Jamison,  William;  Johns, 
Samuel;  Johnston,  James;  Jones,  Lewis;  Kilday,  Thomas;  Kline, 
Nicholas;  Ladley,  John;  Lowdon,  Samuel;  Leek,  William;  Lines, 
Robert;  Lobden,  Thomas;  Masseker,  Reuben,  deserted  July  31, 
1775  ;  Madock,  Moses;  Malone,  John;  Maloy,  Charles;  McMullen, 
Alexander;  McGonigal,  Patrick;  McConnell,  Cornelius;  McCoy, 
Martin ;  McCleary,  James ;  McMasters,  Edward,  residing  in  Ly- 
coming county  in  1823;  Morgan,  WiUiam;  Murray,  William; 
Murphy,  Timothy ;  Murphy,  John  ;  Neely,  John,  he  was  captured 
at  Fort  Freeland,  July,  28,  1779,  and  taken  to  Canada;  Oakes, 
Daniel;  Oliver,  John;  Parker,  Michael;  Peltson,  Thomas,  re-in- 
listed  in  the  First  Pennsylvania,  and  was  killed  by  Joseph  Black- 
burn in  1777;  Pence,  Peter;  Ray,  John;  Richie,  Robert;  Roach, 
Bartholomew;  Robinson,  John ;  Sands,  George ;  Saltznian,  George; 
Segar,  George;  Silverthorn,  Henry;  Shawnee,  John,  (was a  Shaw- 
anese  Indian,  died  at  Milesburg — see  Jones'  Juniata  Valley,  page 
352;)  Smith,  John,  (son  of  Widow  Smith,  of  White  Deer  Mills; 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  8i 

he  never  came  back  from  the  army;)  Speddy,  James,  (Uved  and 
died  at  New  BerUn;)  Sutton,  Arad,  (lived  on  Lycoming  creek; 
the  first  Methodist  society  in  northern  Pennsylvania  was  formed  at 
his  house,  in  1791;)  Sweeney,  James,  discharged  July  20,  1775; 
Teel,  John;  Tuft,  Robert,  discharged  October  25,  1775;  Valen- 
tine, Philip,  discharged  July  20,  1775  ;  Ward,  Peter;  Ward,  John; 
West,  Charles,  died  January  4,  1776;  Whiteneck,  Joseph;  Wright, 
Aaron,  (residing  in  Reading  in  1840;)  Youse,  John;  Young,  Robert, 
(died  in  Walker  township,  Centre  county,  in  1824.) 

Quite  a  large  number  of  this  company  re-enlisted  for  three  years, 
or  during  the  war,  in  Captain  James  Parr's  company,  first  regi- 
ment, commanded  by  Colonel  Edward  Hand,  who  became  colonel 
when  Colonel  Thompson  was  made  brigadier. 

Of  the  company.  Lieutenant  Parr  rose  to  the  rank  of  major, 
served  brilliantly  in  command  of  riflemen  under  Morgan,  at  Sara- 
toga and  Stillwater,  and  under  Sullivan,  in  1 779.  Second  Lieutenant 
.William  Wilson  was  promoted  captain,  March  2,  1777,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  army  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1783.  He  died  at 
Chillisquaque  mills  in  181 3,  while  an  associate  judge  of  North- 
umberland county.  David  Hammond  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant. He  was  severely  wounded  in  Wayne's  attack  upon  the 
block-house  at  Bergen  Point,  now  Jersey  City.  He  died  April  22, 
1801,  from  the  effects  of  his  wound,  and  is  buried  in  the  Chillis- 
quaque graveyard.  He  was  the  father  of  the  late  General  R.  H. 
Hammond,  of  Milton.  Peter  Pence  was  celebrated  in  border  war- 
fare, and  figures  conspicuously  in  Van  Campen's  narrative.  Captain 
McHenry  informs  me  he  died  in  Crawford  township,  Clinton 
county,  in  1827.     He  left  a  son,  John,  living  in  that  neighborhood. 

Captain  Lowdon's  company  rendezvoused  at  Sunbury ;  marched 
thence  to  Reading  and  Easton ;  thence  through  northern  part  of 
New  Jersey,  crossed  the  Hudson  at  New  Windsor,  a  few  miles 
north-west  of  West  Point ;  thence,  through  Hartford,  to  Cambridge, 
where  it  arrived  about  the  8th  of  August.  McCabe,  in  his  sketches 
of  Captain  Samuel  Brady,  has  preserved  some  few  incidents  of  this 
service.  He  says,  on  one  occasion,  Brady  was  sitting  on  a  fence, 
with  the  captain,  when  a  cannon  ball  from  a  British  battery  struck  the 
fence,  and  leveled  them  both.  Brady  was  the  first  up,  saying  "  we  ■ 
are  not  hurt,  Captain."  I  found  in  a  contemporary  newspaper  an 
6 


Sz  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1775. 


account  of  the  island  fight,  to  which  McCabe  alludes,  when  he 
says:  "  Lowdon's  company  was  ordered  to  drive  the  British  from  an 
island  on  which  they  had  landed  to  forage.  Brady  was  considered  too 
young  to  go  along,  and  left  behind;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
captain,  he  followed  after,  and  was  the  second  man  on  the  island." 
November  9,  the  British  landed  at  Lechmere  Point,  one  and  a' 
half  miles  from  Cambridge,  under  cover  of  a  fire  from  their  bat- 
teries on  Bunker,  Breed,  and  Copp's  hills,  as  also  from  a  frigate, 
which  lay  three  hundred  yards  off  the  poin^  on  which  they  landed. 
The  high  tide  prevented  our  people  crossing  the  causeway  for  nearly 
an  hour.  This  time  they  employed  in  shooting  cows  and  horses. 
The  battalion  of  Colonel  Thompson  took  to  the  water,  although  up 
to  their  armpits,  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
regular  fire,  reached  the  island.  Although  the  enemy  were  lodged 
behind  stone  walls  and  under  cover,  on  Colonel  Thompson's 
approach  they  fled,  and  although  the  riflemen  followed  them  to  their 
boats  with  all  speed,  they  could  not  bring  them  to  an  engagement.. 
Our  loss  was  one  killed  and  three  wounded ;  English  loss  seventeen 
killed  and  one  wounded. — Philadelphia  Evening  Post,  1775. 

In  "The  Letters  of  Mrs.  Adams,"  wife  of  John  Adams,  page  61, 
under  date  12th  November,  1775,  is  also  a  notice  of  this  incident: 
"A  number  of  cattle  were  kept  at  Lechmere  Point,  where  two 
sentinels  were  placed.  In  a  high  tide  it  is  an  island.  About  four 
hundred  men  were  sent  to  take  the  cattle  off.  As  soon  as  they 
were  perceived,  the  cannon  on  Prospect  hill  were  fired  on  them  and 
sunk  one  of  their  boats.  A  Colonel  Thompson,  of  the  riflemen, 
marched  instantly  with  his  men,  and  though  a  very  stormy  day, 
they  regarded  not  the  tide  nor  waited  for  boats,  but  marched  over 
neck-high  in  water,  when  the  regulars  ran  without  waiting  to  get 
off  their  stock,  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  opposite 
shore.  The  general  sent  his  thanks  in  a  public  manner  to  the  brave 
officer  and  his  men." 

Colonel  Thompson's  men  are  thus  described  in  Thacher's  Mili- 
tary Journal:  "Several  companies  of  riflemen  have  arrived  here 
from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  a  distance  of  from  five  hundred 
to  seven  hundred  miles.  'J'hey  are  remarkably  stout  and  hardy 
men,  many  of  them  exceeding  six  feet  in  height.  They  are  dressed 
in  rifle  shirts  and  round  hats.     These  men  are  remarkable  for  the 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  S3 

accuracy  of  their  aim,  striking  a  mark  with  great  certamty  at  two 
hundred  yards  distance.  At  a  review,  a  company  of  them,  while 
on  a  quick  advance,  fired  their  balls  into  objects  of  seven  inch 
diameter,  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  They  are 
now  stationed  on  our  lines,  and  their  shot  h'ave  frequently  proved 
fatal  to  British  officers  and  soldiers."     Journal,  pages  37  and  t^^. 

Philadelphia,  August  13,  1775. 

Dear  Sir  : — We  hope  this  letter  will  find  you  safe  at  the  head 
of  your  company,  acting  in  support  and  defense  of  American  liberty ; 
a  glorious  cause,  which  must  stimulate  the  breast  of  every  honest 
and  virtuous  American,  and  force  him,  with  undaunted  courage  and 
un&bated  vigor,  to  oppose  those  ministerial  robbers.  We  hope  the 
contest  will  be  ended  where  it  began,  and  that  the  effusion  of  blood 
may  be  providentially  prevented,  but,  at  the  same  time,  we  hope  to 
see  American  liberty  permanently  established,  to  have  the  honor,  ere 
long,  to  serve  in  her  righteous  cause ;  and  we  are  well  convinced 
that  these  sentiments  prevail  throughout  this  Province.  You  can't 
conceive  what  a  martial  spirit  prevails  here,  and  in  what  order  we 
are.  Two  battalions,  with  the  light  infantry  companies,  are  very 
expert  in  all  the  manoeuvres,  and  are  generally  well  furnished  with 
arms.  Several  companies  of  riflemen  are  formed  in  this  city  and 
the  adjacent  counties,  who  are  become  expert  in  shooting  ;  besides 
we  have  sixteen  row  galleys,  with  latteen  sails,  now  building.  Some 
of  them  are  already  rigged  and  manned.  These  galleys  are  rowed 
with  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  oars,  and  carry  each  one  gun,  from 
eighteen  to  thirty-two  pounds,  besides  swivel  guns,  fore  and  aft. 
We  are  told  by  experienced  men  that  these  galleys  will  prevent  any 
ship  of  war  from  coming  up  this  river.  All  the  coast  to  Georgia  is 
alarmed — prepared  to  oppose  our  ministerial  enemies.  Where, 
then,  can  these  British  bastards,  those  seryile  engines  of  ministerial 
power,  go  to  steal  a  few  sheep.  God  and  nature  has  prescribed 
their  bounds.  They  can't  deluge  our  lands,  nor  float  their  wooden 
batteries  beyond  the  bounds  prescribed,  nor  dare  they  to  penetrate 
so  as  from  afar  to  view  those  high-topped  mountains  which  separate 
the  lower  plains  from  our  Canaan,  and  from  whence,  should  their 
folly  or  madness  prompt  them  to  attempt  it,  would  come  forth  our 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  with  gigantic  strides,  to  wash  the 


84  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1775. 

plains  with  the  blood  of  those  degenerate  invaders  of  the  liberties 
of  mankind. 

We,  in  conjunction  with  many  others,  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  Congress,  representing  the  threatened  encroachments  of  the 
Connecticut  invaders-  of  our  Province.  It  was  well  received,  and 
the  Connecticut  Delegates  and  those  of  this  Province  were  desired 
to  write  to  their  people  respectively,  and  inclosed  I  send  you  a  copy 
of  the  Connecticut  letter  to  Wyoming.  Stansburyhas  in  it  charge, 
and  it  seems  to  be  all  that  honorable  body  could  do  in  the  affair. 

Our  partiality  for  the  rifle  battalion  is  so  great  that  we  are  very 
anxious  to  hear  of  their  having  distinguished  themselves  in  some 
great  enterprise.  This  partiality  is  natural  and  allowable,  when,  from 
one's  personal  acquaintance  with  many  of  their  commanders,  we  can 
and  do  with  martial  pride  celebrate  their  distinguished  abilities  as 
riflemen  and  soldiers. 

We  are,  with  great  esteem,  dear  sir,  your  most  humble  servants, 

Robert  Lettis  Hooper,  junior, 
Reuben  Haines. 

Captain  John  Lowdon. 

P.  S. — Present  our  compliments  to  Mr.  Lukens  and  Mr.  North. 
Mr.  Musser  desires  his  compliments  to  you  and  them. 

P.  S. — August  17.  Since  the  date  of  this  letter  Hawkins  Boone 
has  been  down,  and  says  that  the  Connecticut  people  have  not 
attempted  any  encroachments  lately,  and,  from  circumstances,  have 
little  reason  to  think  they  will. 

Major  Ennion  Williams  (journal  before  referred  to)  gives  the 
the  details  of  a  trip  to  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  under  date  October 
1 7.  He  says  :  guns  of  one  of  our  batteries,  two  miles  from  Boston, 
firing.  One  bursted,  and  killed  one  man  and  wounded  six.  I 
returned  thence  to  the  riflemen's  camp,  and  stopped  with  Captain 
Lowdon  over  night.  At  daybreak  I  awoke,  and  a  few  minutes  after 
the  morning  gun  fired.  All  aroused  directly;  the  men  repaired 
with  arms  and  accouterments  to  the  forts  and  lines,  and  in  about  ten 
minutes  the  captains,  with  their  companies,  were  in  the  fort,  drawn 
along  the  sides  of  the  fort,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  they  began 
their  firing. 

The  captain  stepped  on  the    banket  or  step,  inside  at  foot  of 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  85 

breastwork,  and  gave  the  word,  '  'Make  ready  !"  The  front  rank  step 
on  the  banket,  and  second  step  forward.  ''Present !"  He  does  not 
give  the  word  "Fire  !"  but  makes  a  pause.  Then  they  recover,  and 
face  to  right  about,  and  march  through  the  files.  At  the  word  "Make 
ready  !"  again  the  next  rank  steps  on  the  banket,  and  so  on  continu- 
ually.  Every  man  is  to  be  sure  of  his  object '  before  he  fires,  as  he 
rests  his  piece  on  the  parapet.  In  about  a  half  an  hour  the  flag  was 
hoisted.  They  ceased,  and  retired  by  regiments  to  their  cjuarters, 
and  the  orderly  sergeant  read  the  orders  of  the  day  and  trials  by 
court  martial,  &c. 

There  are  numerous  notices  of  this  company  in  the  Hand  papers 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  S.  B.  Rogers,  of  Lancaster,  the  grand- 
daughter of  General  Edward  Hand,  who  was  lieutenant  colonel, 
and  afterwards  colonel  of  the  First  Rifle  Regiment.  On  the  24th  of 
October  he  says  :  "  This  morning  at  dawn  Parr,  from  Northumber- 
berland,  with  thirty  men  from  us,  marched  for  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  to  defend  that  place."  On  the  8th  of  March :  "I  am 
stationed  on  Cobble  Hill,  with  four  companies  of  our  regiment.  Two 
companies,  Cluggages'  and  Chambers',  were  ordered  to  Dorchester 
on  Monday  ;  Ross'  and  Lowdon's  relieved  them  yesterday.  Every 
regiment  is  to  have  a  standard  and  colors.  Our  standard  is  to  be 
a  deep  green  ground,  the  device  a  tiger,  partly  inclosed  by  toils, 
attempting  the  pass,  defended  by  a  hunter,  armed  with  a  spear,  (in 
white,)  on  crimson  field.     The  motto,  Domari  Nolo.'"'^ 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1776,  the  company  left  Cambridge  with 
the  battalion  which  was  detached  by  General  Washington,  with  five 
other  regiments,  under  General  Sullivan,  to  prevent  a  landing  of  the 
British  at  New  York,  when  they  evacuated  Boston,  Arrived  at  Hart- 
ford on  the  2ist,  and  at  New  York  on  the  28th.  The  company  was 
stationed  on  Long  Island  during  May  and  until  June  30th,  when  it 
was  mustered  out  of  service. 

'This  standard  is  stiU  in  possession  of  Tliomas  Rohinson,  Esquire,  grandson  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Thomas  Kobinson,  of  the  First  Pennsylvania,  and  was  on  exhibi- 
tion at  the  Centennial,  1876.  I  identified  it  by  this  description,  found  among  the 
Hand  papers. 


S6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1775. 

Roll  of  Captains  James  Parr's  company,  enlisted  for  three  year's  or 
during  the  war,  frotn  July  1,17  76. 

Captain — Parr,  James,  promoted  major  October  9,  1778. 

First  Lieutenant — Wilson,  James. 

Second  Lieutenant — Wilson,  William,  promoted  captain  March  2, 
1777. 

Third  Lieutenant — Dougherty,  John. 

Sergeants — Hammond,  David,  (promoted  second  lieutenent,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1777;  first  lieutenant.  May  12,  1779,)  McCormick, 
Alexander;   McMurray,  William ;   Dougherty,  Cornelius. 

Privates — Allen,  David ;  Bacher,  Michael ;  Bradley,  John  ;  Calla- 
han, Daniel;   Campbell,  Daniel ;   Condon,  Peter ;  Conner,  James; 
Coons,  Mansfield;  Davis,  David;   Dubois,  Richard;  Delling,  Cor- 
nelius; Donahue,  Patrick;  Edwards,  William;  Grififin,  John;   Hag- 
erty,  William;  Hammond,  John;  Henry,  Philip;  Hinson,  Aquila; 
Hutchinson,  John;  Jones,  Lewis;  Leech,  William;  Lochry,  Michael; 
Loughrey,  James ;  McCleary,  James ;  McConnell,  Cornelius ;  Mc- 
Cormick, Henry ;    McGaughey,    Hugh ;    Malone,    John ;    Meloy, 
Charles ;    Moore,    James ;     Moore,    William ;    Morgan,    William 
Murphy,  John  ;  Murray,  Patrick ;  Noishen,  John  ;  Norton,"  George 
Oliver,  John;    Paine,  Thomas;    Peltson,  Thomas;  Peter,  Philip 
Rankin,  John ;    Ray,    John ;    Ryan,  William ;    Saltman,  George 
Scott,  Samuel ;    Scott,  William ;   Sprigg,  James ;   Speddy,  James 
Stewart,  Thomas;  Sullivan,  Maurice;  Thompson,  Alexander;  Toner 
John;   Warren,  George;  Washburn,  Jonathan ;  Wilson,  Matthew 
Willson,  Samuel ;  Whiteneck,  Joseph  ;  Youse,  John. 

Road  from  Bald  Eagle  to  Sunbury. 

The  viewers  reported  this  road  at  November  sessions.  I  copy  so 
much  as  relates  to  our  Valley,  as  it  indicates  the  names  and  resi- 
dence of  early  settlers: 

"  From  a  white  oak  in  the  Narrows,  between  White  Deer  and 
Buffalo  Valleys,  two  miles  ninety-nine  perches,  to  Smith's  mills, 
(now  Candor's;)  thence  to  white  oak,  west  side  of  Blythe's  mill 
(which  was  probably  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  creek;)  thence  to 
McClures,  (who  lived  on  Blythe's  land ;)  thence  to  a  white  oak  oppo- 
site the   lower  end   of  Marcus   Huling's   island,    (Milton   bridge 


1775.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  87 

island;)  thence  to  a  plumb  at  Peter  Swartz's,  (Miller's  place;) 
thence  to  a  stone  at  Clark's,  (late  John  Kling's  ;)■  thence  to  a  post 
at  Robert  Fruit's,  (Hinely's;)  thence  to  a  post  at  William  Gray's, 
(now  Paul  Geddes' ;)  thence  to  Buffp.lo  creek,  (where  the  iron  bridge 
now  spans  the  creek;)  thence  to  a  pine  near  the  head  of  Derr's 
dam ;  thence  to  a  pine,  corner  of  Abel  Reese's,  (/.  e.  through  the 
University  grounds,  to  Adam  Gundy  and  William  Brown's  corner ;) 
thence  to  a  post  at  Aurand's  barn,  (Jenkins'  ;)  thence  to  John  Lee's, 
(Winfield;)  thence  to  Andrew  Gibson's;  thence  to  the  gum  near 
Reuben  Haines'  road ;  thence  down  the  same  to  the  black  oak  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  river,  opposite  Sunbury." 

At  the  same  sessions,  the  great  road  up  the  Valley  was  extended, 
through  the  Narrows,  to  the  Great  Plains,  now  in  Centre  county. 

25th  December  occurred  Plunket's  expedition  to  Wyoming. 
Colonel  Kelly  and  some  others  from  the  Valley  were  along.  Jesse 
Lukens,  Surveyor  General  Lukens'  son,  was  killed.  The  history  of 
this  expedition,  taken  from  the  records  at  Harrisburg,  I. will  give  in 
brief : 

On  the  23d  of  November,  the  Speaker  laid  before  the  Assembly 
a  letter  from  Samuel  Hunter,  and  others,  stating  that  two  of  the 
magistrates  and  the  sheriff  of  the  county  had  an  interview  with 
Zebulon  Butler  and  some  others  of  the  principal  men  among  the 
Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and  read  the  resolves  of  the 
Assembly  to  them,  and  inquired  whether  they  would  peaceably 
submit  to  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania.  They  answered  that  they 
despised  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and  never  would  submit  to  them 
unless  compelled  by  force.  The  magistrates  received  a  great  deal 
of  abuse,  and  returned  a  different  road  from  that  in  which  they  had 
gone,  on  account  of  the  risk  of  their  lives. 

The  Assembly,  on  the  25th,  requested  the  Governor  to  issue 
orders  for  a  due  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  Province  in  North- 
umberland county,  which  the  Governor  did  in  a  letter  of  that  date 
to  the  justices  and  sheriff.  The  report  of  the  latter  to  the  Gover- 
nor is  dated  Sunbury,  30th  December,  1775,  and  states  that  pursu- 
ant to  his  orders,  a  number  of  warrants  for  the  apprehension  of  a 
number  of  persons  residing  at  Wyoming,  charged  on  oath  with  ille- 
gal practices  and  crimes,  were  placed  in  the  Sheriff's  hands.  He 
judged  it  prudent  to  raise  the  posse  of  the  county,  and  a  body  of 


S8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1775. 

near  five  hundred  men  accompanied  him  to  the  neighborhood  of 
W}-oming.  They  were  met  by  some  of  the  people  ;  one  of  whom 
was  said  to  be  an  officer.  The  intentions  of  the  sheriff  and  \\vi  posse 
were  explained,  and  that  no  violence  or  molestation  would  be 
offered  any  one  submitting  to  the  laws.  The  sheriff  had  proceeded 
but  a  little  further  when  he  was  fired  upon,  and  Hugh  McWilliams 
was  killed  and  three  others  dangerousl)'  wounded.  It  was  found 
impossible  to  force  a  passage  on  that  side  of  the  river,  as  the  Nar- 
rows had  been  fortified  with  great  care,  and  were  lined  with  num- 
bers of  men,  to  which  ours  bore  no  reasonable  proportion.  An 
attempt  was  then  made  to  cross  the  river  in  the  night,  for  greater 
secrecy,  to  reach  the  settlements  of  the  persons  against  whom  the 
process  had  issued.  When  the  boats  had  nearly  reached  the  oppo- 
site shore,  and  were  entangled  in  a  margin  of  ice,  too  thin  to  bear 
the  weight  of  a  man,  they  were,  without  previous  challenge,  repeat- 
edly fired  upon  by  a  party  on  top  of  the  bank,  Jesse  Lukens 
received  a  mortal  wound,  of  which  he  is  since  dead.  As  a  landing 
could  not  be  effected,  the  boats  returned.  Baffled  in  the  second 
attempt,  and  the  weather  being  intolerably  severe,  and  receiving 
information  that  the  parties  he  desired  to  arrest  were  chief  in  com- 
mand in  the  breastworks,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  desist  from 
any  further  attempt.  A  constant  fire  was  kept  upon  our  men  from 
the  opposite  side,  while  they  retreated  through  a  long  narrows. 
One  man  only,  however,  was  wounded  in  the  arm,  &c. 

This  report  is  signed  by  William  Scull,  sheriff;  Samuel  Harris, 
coroner;  and  the  justices,  William  Plunket,  Samuel  Hunter, 
Michael  Troy,  and  John  Weitzel. 


i'r^6 


White  Deer  Township  Erected — Associators — Second  Battalion — 
Colonel  Potter — Inhabitants  of  Penn's — Churches  of  the  Valley — 
Constitutional  Convention — Incident  at  Derr's  Trading-House — 
Minutes  of  the  County  Committee — Roll  of  Captain  Weitzel's 
Company — Fourth  Battalion  of  Associators — Roll  of  Captain  John 
Clarke's  Company — Roster  of  Twelfth  Pennsylvania. 


OHN  PENN,  Governor,  until  September  28,  when  the 
New  Constitution  went  into  effect.  The  surveys,  made 
under  John  Penn's  warrants,  until  December  of  this 
year,  were  afterwards  legalized.  James  Potter,  addi- 
tional Member  of  Assembly.  Colonel  Samuel  Hunter,  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  at  Philadelphia.  William  Maclay,  Prothon- 
otary  ;  William  Scull,  Sheriff;  County  Commissioners,  Thomas 
Hewitt,  William  Gray.  2 2d  January,  John  Weitzel  sworn  in  as 
County  Commissioner.  Attorneys  admitted,  William  Price  Gibbs, 
and  William  Lawrence  Blair. 

Officers  of  Buffalo  township  :  Constable,  Christian  Storms ;  Over- 
seers, John  Clarke  and  John  Pontius;  Supervisors,  Joseph  Green 
and  Jacob  Fought. 

At  February  sessions,  White  Deer  township  was  set  off  from  Buf- 
falo, by  a  line  beginning  at  the  upper  side  of  Buffalo  creek,  at  its 
mouth ;  thence  up  the  same  to  the  mouth  of  Spruce  run ;  thence 
up  the  same  to  the  forks  thereof ;  thence  up  the  north-east  branch 
to  the  head  thereof;  thence  by  a  straight  line  to  the  four-mile  tree, 
on  Reuben  Haines'  road,  on  the  line  of  Potter  township.  Its  first 
officers  were:  Peter  Swartz,  constable;  Walter  Clark  and  Matthew 


go 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1776. 


Brown,  overseers;  Hugh  Caldwell  and  Robert  Fruit,  supervisors. 
Henry  Iddings  bought  the  Parsons'  place,  adjoining  Colonel 
Kelly's,  and  moved  into  the  Valley.  During  the  summer  of  this 
year  Widow  Smith  added  a  boring-mill  to  her  other  mills,  near 
the  mouth  of  White  Deer  creek.  Here  a  great  number  of  gun- 
barrels  were  bored  for  the  Continental  army. 

Northumberland,  ya«z/ary  24,  1776. 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  at  an  election  for  field  officers,  held  at 
Ludwig  Derr's,  on  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  on  Tues- 
day, the  12th  day  of  September  last,  the  following  gentlemen  were 
regularly  chosen  for  the  upper  division,  of  the  county  of  Northum- 
berland, viz :  James  Potter,  Esquire,  colonel ;  Robert  Moodie, 
Esquire,  lieutenant  colonel ;  Mr.  John  Kelly,  first  major ;  Mr.  John 
Brady,  second  major. 

William  Scull, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

A  Return  of  the  Names  of  the  Captains  and  other  Officers  of  the 
several  Companies,  in  the  Upper  Division  of  the  County  of 
Northmnberland,  with  the  Ranks  of  said  Companies  and  number 
of  Men. 

Arthur  Taggart,  first  captain, 
Cornelius  Atkinson,  first  lieutenant, 
James  McClung,  second  lieutenant, 
James  Wilson,  ensign. 

William  Gray,  second  captain, 
William  Clark,  first  lieutenant, 
James  Murdoch,  second  lieutenant, 
William  Thompson,  ensign. 

David  Berry,  third  captain, 
William  Hammond,  first  lieutenant, 
Israel  Parsels,  second  lieutenant, 
Benjamin  Burt,  ensign. 

Samuel  Dale,  fourth  captain, 
William  Bennet,  first  lieutenant, 
Hawkins  Boone,  second  lieutenant, 
Jesse  Weeks,  ensign. 


\ 


85  privates. 


90  privates. 


45  privates. 


67  privates. 


1776.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


9' 


Cookson  Long,  fifth  captain, 
William  Mucklehatton,  first  lieutenant, 
Robert  Fleming,  second  lieutenant, 
Robert  Fleming,  junior,  ensign. 

Samuel  Wallis,  sixth  captain, 
John  Scudder,  first  lieutenant, 
Peter  Jones,  second  lieutenant, 
James  Hampton,  ensign. 

James  Murray,  seventh  captain, 
William  Murray,  first  lieutenant, 
Thomas  Plunket,  second  lieutenant, 
Andrew  Robinson,  ensign. 

Henry  Antes,  eighth  captain, 
Thomas  Brandon,  first  lieutenant, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  second  lieutenant, 
Simon  Cole,  ensign. 

John  McMillan,  ninth  captain, 
John  McConnol,  first  lieutenant, 
John  McCormick,  second  lieutenant, 
Charles  Wilson,  ensign. 

David  Hayes,  tenth  captain, 
Charles  Clark,  first  lieutenant, 
Thomas  Gray,  ensign. 

Philip  Davis,  eleventh  captain, 
James  Aspey,  first  lieutenant, 
John  Nelson,  second  lieutenant, 
Jacob  Fulmore,  ensign. 


59  privates. 


91  privates. 


60  privates. 


58  privates. 


43  privates. 


41  privates. 


74  privates. 


NoRTHUMBELRAND,  2 /\th  Jamiary ,  1776. 
I  do  hereby  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true  return,  of  the  several 
companies,  which,  form  the  battalion  in  the  upper  division  of  the 
county  of  Northumberland,  as  delivered  in  to  me. 

William  Scull, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
To  tlie  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  following  imperfect  list  of  the  inhabitants  of  Penn's  town- 
ship is  taken  from  the  duplicate  of  Christian  Seecrist,  collector  for 
this  year,  duplicate  being  mutilated :    Adams,  George ;   Albright, 


g2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [177fi. 

Jacob  ;  Albright,  Frederick  ;  Arnold,  Casper  ;  Arnold,  Lawrence  ; 
Augustine,  Hieronimus ;  Ault,  Michael ;  Bait,  Adam ;  Bander, 
Adam;  Baker,  William  ;  Berst,  Peter;  Bear,  Jacob;  Bickel,  Tobias  ; 
Bomberger,  John ;  Bower,  Peter ;  Bower,  Henry ;  Bright,  John ; 
Bressler,  Nicholas  ;  Brouse,  John  ;  Brau,  Martin  ;  Bombach,  George  ; 
Crean,  John  ;  Hassinger,  Jacob ;  Hosterman,  Peter;  Hosterman, 
Jacob,  junior;  Jacobs,  Joseph;  Jorday,  Peter;  Jordan,  Philip; 
Jost,  Casper ;  Kerstetter,  Michael ;  Kerstetter,  Bastian ;  Keller, 
Michael ;  Kebler,  John ;  Kline,  Andrew ;  Kline,  Jacob ;  Kline, 
George;  Kline,  Stophel ;  Kroo,  Godfrey;  Kremer,  Peter;  Kremer, 
Daniel  ;  Graybill,  (Krebill,)  John;  Kreger,  Henry;  Krail,  Michael; 
Laudenslager,  George  ;  Seiver,  Adam,  inmate ;  Lewis,  John,  in- 
mate ;  Lepley,  Michael ;  Leist,  David ;  Lemley,  Leonard ;  Livin- 
good,  Jacob ;  Lively,  John  ;  Livengood,  F. ;  Livey,  Peter  ;  Lowrey, 
George ;  Long,  Christian ;  Livengood,  George ;  Maurer,  Law- 
rence ;  Maurer,  Peter  ;  Manning  Richard  ;  Markley,  Peter  ;  Mark- 
ley,  Simeon;  Martin,  Frederick;  Mensch,  Charles;  Menich, 
Simeon ;  Meiser,  Michael ;  Meiser,  John ;  Meiser,  John ;  Meese, 
Thomas;  Miser,  Henry;  Miller,  Henry;  Miller,  Christian;  Miller, 
Frederick;  Miller,  Dewalt ;  Miller,  George  ;  Moon,  William  ;  Moon, 
Casper,  junior;  Motz,  George,  inmate;  Motz,  John ;  Moore,  Andrew; 
Moon,  Casper,  senior;  Motz,  Michael;  Mull,  Anthony;  Murray, 
Alexander;  Myer,  Charles;  Myer,  Jacob,  junior;  Myer,  Jacob, 
senior  ;  Myer,  Alexander  ;  Myer,  Stophel ;  McQueen,  John  ;  Mc- 
Kean,  William;  Newcomer,  Francis;  Nees,  William;  Newman, 
Jacob;  Neff,  Jacob;  O'Brien,  Patrick;  Puff,  Dewall ;  Pyle,  Peter; 
Reger,  Michael;  Reed,  John;  Reager,  Adam,  junior;  Reichen- 
bach,  John,  senior;  Reichenl)ach,  John,  junior;  Reed,  Casper; 
Ream,  John;  Riddle,  Yost;  Richart,  Henry;  Righter,  Christian; 
Right,  Ellis ;  Row,  George ;  Row,  George,  junior ;  Row,  John ; 
Row,  Martin ;  Roush,  Casper ;  Roush,  George ;  Robert,  John ; 
Rush,  John;  Ryne,  Henry;  Sense,  Frederick;  Seecrist,  Christian; 
Schrock,  John  ;  Schrock,  George ;  Shaffer,  Peter  ;  Shaffer,  Andrew  ; 
Shaffer,  Ludwig ;  Sharrett,  Jacob ;  Sherrick,  John ;  Shedderly, 
Andrew;  Shallenberger,  Lawrence;  Shock,  Mathias ;  Simeon, 
Joseph ;  Smith,  John  ;  Smith,  Nicholas ;  Snyder,  Harman  ;  Snyder. 
Simon ;  Snyder,  Anthony ;  Snider,  John ;  Snevely,  Abraham  ; 
Swift,  John;  Spayd,  Jacob;    Specs,  Jacob;  Stees,   Jacob;    Steel, 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  gj 


John  ;  Stephen,  Adam ;  Stinley,  Daniel ;  Stigleman,  Jacob  ;  Straup, 
Peter ;  Strayer,  Mathias ;  Strump,  Casper ;  Stroam,  Christian ; 
Stock,  Melchior;  Summerouser,  Henry;  Sutton,«Stephen ;  Swengle, 
Michael;  Swartz,  John;  Swift,  John;  Swoab,  George;  Trester, 
Martin,  junior ;  Trester,  Michael ;  Truckenmiller,  Peter ;  Trout- 
ner,  George;  Ulrich,  George;  Wales,  John;  Wallace,  Samuel; 
Walter,  Ludwig;  Walter,  Jacob;  Warfel,  Henry;  Weaver,  Michael ; 
Weiser,  Peter,  senior;  Weiser,  Benjamin,  Esquire;  Weirich,  Peter; 
Weirich,  William;  Whitmer,  Peter;  Whitmore,  Michael;  Witten- 
myer.  Andrew ;  Wittenmyer,  Ludwig  •  Wing,  Hugh ;  Wise,  George ; 
Worrah,  or  Woodrow,  Ludwig ;  Zellar,  John ;  Zerbach,  Bartel ; 
Zimmerman,  Stophel ;  Zanzinger,  Adam.  Single  men — Bickle, 
Simon;  Dellman,  Andrew;  Dill,  Leonard;  Dunkle,  Charles;  Gar- 
ret, Henry;  Havelock,  Jacob;  Isenhower,  Frederick;  Kremer, 
Daniel ;  Kerstetter,  Martin ;  List,  Andrew  ;  Maxwell,  James ;  Me- 
shall,  Daniel;  Miller,  Conrad;  Myst,  John;  Rickert,  John ;  Stroup, 
John;  Snider,  Stophel;  Stock,  Peter;  Weaver,  John;  Zeller, 
Henry. 

The  churches  in  what  was  called  in  general  Shamokin,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Susquehanna,  about  the  junction  of  the  North  and  West 
Branches,  namely,  Mahony,  Sunbury,  Middle  Creek  and  Buffalo  Val- 
ley, were  in  existence  as  early  as  1776.  In  the  minutes  of  Cactus, 
held  in  Lancaster,  May  i,  is  a  minute  "  that  different  congregations 
in  Shamokin  having  asked  for  such  an  arrangement  as  to  have  min- 
isters visit  them,  it  was  resolved  that  ministers  should  visit  them 
occasionally  during  this  year,  and  preach  to  them,"  (S:c.  Harbaugh's 
Fathers  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  3d  vol.,  34th  page.  The 
German  Reformed  Church  was  under  the  supervision  of  the  church 
in  Holland  until  about  the  year  1791,  and  only  such  ministers  were 
received  by  the  church  as  were  either  sent  over  by  the  Fathers  in 
Holland,  or  had  their  indorsement.     Ibid.,  2d  vol. 

Convention  of  1776. 

In  consequence  of  a  circular  letter  from  the  Committee  of  the  City 
and  Liberties  of  Philadelphia,  inclosing  the  resolution  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  of  the  15  th  of  May,  recommending  the  adoption 
of  the  State  Government  in  each  of  the  Colonies,  a  provincial  con- 


()4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  [1776. 

ference  was  held  at  Philadelphia,  on  Tuesday,  June  i8.  For  the 
committee  of  Northumberland  county  appeared  Colonel  William 
I  Cooke,  Alexander*  Hunter,  Esquire,  John  Weitzel,  Robert  Martin 
'  and  Matthew  Brown.  This  conference  met  at  Carpenters'  Hall, 
and  chose  Colonel  Thomas  McKean,  President.  It  was  resolved 
unanimously  that  a  convention  should  be  called  to  form  a  new 
Government.  Qualifications  of  an  elector  were  fixed  as  follows  :  He 
must  be  twenty-one  years  of  age,  have  lived  one  year  in  the  Province, 
and  paid  either  a  provincial  or  county  tax,  and  further,  swear  that 
he  would  no  longer  bear  allegiance  to  George  III.  To  be  a  member 
of  the  convention  required  like  qualifications,  and  further,  that  he 
must  swear  that  he  would  oppose  any  measure  that  would  interfere 
with  or  obstruct  the  religious  principles  or  practices  of  any  of  the 
good  people  of  the  Province ;  and  still  further,  sign  a  declaration  of 
faith  in  the  Trinity  and  in  the  Divine  inspiration  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament. 

It  was  determined  that  each  county  should  have  eight  Represent- 
atives or  members,  the  election  for  whom  should  be  held  on 
Monday,  the  8th  of  July,  and  it  passed  resolutions  to  raise  four  thou- 
sand five  hundred  militia,  to  join  a  flying  camp  to  consist  of  ten 
thousand  men  in  the  middle  Colonies,  &c. 

The  election  for  Northumberland  county  was  held  at  George 
McCandlish's,^  (Turbutt.)  Thomas  Hewitt,  William  Shaw  and 
Joseph  Green  were  the  judges.  The  members  elected  were  :  William 
Cooke,  James  Potter,  Robert  Martin,  Matthew  Brown,  Walter  Clark, 
f  John  Kelly,  James  Crawford,  John  Weitzel.  The  convention  met 
on  Monday,  the  15th  of  July,  in  Philadelphia,  and  Doctor  Franklin 
was  chosen  President.  It  continued,  by  adjournments,  until  the  28th 
of  September,  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and  signed. 

A  short  statement  of  its  salient  points  will  be  of  interest,  and  serve 
to  explain  the  political  statistics  of  these  Annals.  The  law-making 
power  was  vested  in  a  House  of  Representatives,  the  members  of 
which  were  to  be  chosen  annually,  by  ballot,  on  the  second  Tuesday 
of  October,  to  meet  on  the  fourth  Monday  of  the  same  month.  No 
member  could  serve  more  than  four  years.     It  was  to  choose  the 

iMcOandlish  lived  In  a  log  house  just  back  of  MUton,  on  the  late  Samuel  Hepburn, 
Esquire's,  farm.  In  July,  1779.  Marcus  Hulings  sold  him  his  tavern  stand  on  the 
river,  at  the  end  of  Broadway  street,  Milton,  Hulings  returning  to  his  old  home, 
Duncan's  Island.— J.  F.  Wolfinger,  Esquire. 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  pj 

State  Treasurer  and  Delegates  to  Congress  annually,  of  which  no  one 
could  be  a  member  more  than  two  years  successively,  nor  be  capable 
of  re-election  for  three  years  afterward.  Each  county  was  to  be 
entitled  to  six  members  until  a  proper  apportionment  could  be  made. 
There  was  also  a  provision  for  the  election  of  a  council  of  censors 
in  1783,  and  every  seven  years  thereafter,  two  persons  from  each 
city  and  county,  whose  duty  it  was  to  inquire  whether  the  Constitu- 
tion had  been  violated. 

The  execution  of  the  laws  devolved  upon  the  President  and 
Supreme  Executive  Council.  This  consisted  of  twelve  persons,  one 
for  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  from  each  of  the  eleven  coun- 
ties into  which  the  Province  was  then  divided.  They  were,  howe^'er, 
chosen  by  districts.  Northampton,  Bedford,  Northumberland  and 
Westmoreland  constituting  one  district,  the  embryo  of  the  present 
senatorial  representation.  Every  member  of  Council  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  the  whole  State.  The  President  and  Vice  President 
of  the  State  were  chosen  of  members  of  the  C(ji.mcil  in  joint  conven- 
tion of  the  Assembly  and  Council.  The  President  had  the  power  of 
appointing  and  commissioning  judges,  &c.,  and  of  sitting  as  judge 
in  impeachment  cases,  and  could  grant  pardons,  &c.'  The  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  held  office  for  seven  years.  Two  or  more 
persons  were  chosen  in  each  township  as  justices,  and  the  Council 
commissioned  one  or  more  of  them  for  seven  years.  These  justices 
held  the  several  courts.  It  did  not  follow,  as  remarked  by  Judge 
Duncan,  in  Albright's  case,  who  was  both  associate  and  justice  in 
1813,  the  legality  of  holding  both  offices  at  the  same  time  being 
then  tested  and  affirmed,  that  the  Council  should  appoint  the  justices 
of  the  sessions  from  the  justices  elect,  though  they  generally  did. 
Two  persons  were  to  be  voted  for  for  sheriff,  one  of  whom  was 
commissioned  by  the  Council.  The  county  commissioners  and 
assessors  of  taxes  were  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  thus  embodying 
in  the  Constitution  the  principles  for  which  the  Revolution  was 
inaugurated,  the  right  of  the  people  to  tax  themselves. 

The  convention,  by  an  ordinance  dated  September  3,  created  a 
new  Council  of  Safety,  of  which  Samuel  Hunter  and  John  Weitzel 
•  were  the  members  for  Northumberland  county.  It  also  appointed 
the  following  justices  :  Samuel  Hunter,  James  Potter,  William  Ma- 
clay,  Robert  Moodie,  John  Lowdon,  Benjamin  Weiser,  Henry  Antes, 
and  John  Simpson. 


gb  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

John  Lowdon,  of  Silver  Spring,  near  Mifflinburg,  became  member 
of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  by  choice  of  the  Delegates  from 
the  district  of  Northampton,  Bedford,  Westmoreland,  and  Nor- 
thumberland counties. 

Buffalo,  White  Deer,  and  Potter  were  in  the  third  election  dis- 
trict; and  the  first  election  under  the  constitution  was  held  at  Fought's 
mill,  (near  Mifflinburg,)  on  3d  of  November.  The  Assembly  met  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  28th  of  November,  when  Thomas  Wharton, 
junior,  was  elected  President  of  the  Council  and  State ;  John  Jacobs 
Speaker  of  the  House. 

Copy  of  Certificate  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

Northumberland  County,  November  7,  1776. 

Agreable  to  an  ordinance  in  Convention  for  the  State  or  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  this  is  to  certify  that  the  following  per- 
sons were  duly  elected  for  the  respective  offices  annexed  to  their 
names  for  the  county  aforesaid : 

Council,  John  Lowdon;  Assembly,  Thomas  Hewitt,  Samuel 
Dale,  Jacob  Fulmer,  Robert  Fruit,  David  Robb,  and  Samuel  Wallis; 
Sheriff,  Jonathan  Lodge  and  James  Murray ;  Coroner,  James  Mc- 
Mahan,  John  Murray ;  Commissioners,  William  Gray,  Philip  Cole, 
Joseph  Wallis;  Assessors,  David  Mead,  Andrew  Moore,  James 
Thompson,  James  McClure,  William  Watson,  and  William  Shaw. 
(Signed)  John  Brady, 

James  McClenachan, 
John  Gray, 
Thomas  Robinson, 
Judges  of  the  Different  Districts. 

Incident  at  Derr's  Trading- House. 

It  is  singular,  after  a  careful  search  of  contemporary  documents, 
I  can  find  no  allusion  to  the  treaty,  said  to  have  been  held  at  Fort 
Augusta,  at  the  time  this  incident  occurred.  It  appears  by  contem- 
porary evidence,  that  the  Indians  cut  down  their  corn,  and  moved 
off  their  families  and  effects,  on  the  ist  of  July.     Two  Seneca  In- 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  gj 

dians  came  to  the  Great  Island,  (just  below  Lock  Haven,)  the  day 
before,  and  the  whole  party  moved  off  suddenly,  to  join  the  Six 
Nations  in  the  war.  That  is  the  last  we  know  of  them  as  residents 
of  the  West  Branch  valley,  and  our  troubles  with  them  then  began. 

In  a  letter,  dated  Paxton,  August  27,  1776,  John  Harris  says: 
"The  Indians,  to  the  northward,  southward,  and  westward,  are  for 
war  against  us,  as  I  am  informed  by  a  letter  from  Northumberland 
county,  by  their  post,  two  days  ago.  The  Susquehanna  Indians 
are  only  for  peace  with  us.  About  twenty  Indians,  (enemies,)  men, 
women,  and  children,  have  been  many  days  past  at  Sunbury,  and 
make  said  report."  In  all  probability  this  was  the  party  that  stopped 
at  Derr's  trading-house,  and  the  date  of  the  incident,  therefore, 
August,  1776. 

Christian  Van  Gundy  (father  of  Captain  Jacob  Gundy,  who  is 
my  authority,)  often  related  the  incident.  He  said,  his  father, 
Christian  Van  Gundy,  senior,  lived  between  John  Strohecker's  and 
the  late  Jacob  Spidler's,  and  kept  the  ferry  there.  He  thought  he 
was  about  thirteen  years  old  at  the  time ;  but  it  appears,  by  his  tomb- 
stone, that  he  was  born  about  the  ist  of  March,  1766,  and  if  thir- 
teen, it  would  throw  the  date  beyond  that  of  the  death  of  Captain 
John  Brady,  (nth  April,  1779.)  He  could,  therefore,  have  been 
only  ten  years  of  age.  To  resume  his  story:  he  said  he  saw  the 
Indians  come  up  the  river,  until  they  arrived  opposite  where  they 
lived.  They  stopped,  carried  some  things  ashore,  and  left  the 
women  there,  then  crossed  over  to  Derr's  trading-house.  He  asked 
his  father  for  permission  to  go  up  to  see  the  Indians.  He  said  he 
saw  Derr  knock  in  the  head  of  a  whisky  barrel,  and  give  the  In- 
dians tin-cups  to  drink  with.  They  drank  and  danced,  and  showed 
how  they  scalped  by  gestures.  Most  of  them  got  beastly  drunk  ; 
but  one  would  not  drink  any.  He  then  saw  Brady  approach,  and 
kick  over  the  barrel,  which  put  an  end  to  the  frolic.  He  said  they 
would  seize  each  other  by  the  hair,  and  go  through  the  form  of 
scalping,  tearing  off  the  scalp  with  the  teeth.  (Derr's  house  stood 
by  the  cherry  tree  in  the  present  garden,  and  the  barrel  was  just  in 
front.  So  John  Brown,  senior,  said,  who  owned  the  mill  property 
•many  years.) 

R.  B.  McCabe,  Esquire,  of  Blairsville,  Indiana  county,  (whither 
William  P.  Brady  removed,)  published,  some  forty  years  ago,  in  the 


g8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

Blairsville  Record,  some  sketches  of  the  life  of  Captain  Samuel 
Brady,  written  upon  the  dictation  of  one  of  the  Brady  family,  (so 
the  late  Jasper  E.  Brady  informed  me,)  in  which  this  incident  is 
alluded  to.  He  says  Captain  John  Brady  lived  on  the  West  Branch, 
opposite  the  site  of  Lewisburg,  on  the  place  owned  by  Honorable 
George  Kremer's  heirs.  Derr  had  a  small  mill  on  the  run  that 
empties  into  the  river  below  the  town,  where  he  supplied  the  Indians 
with  powder,  lead,  rum,  &c.  Brady  discovered  that  the  Indians 
were  likely  to  be  tampered  with  by  the  British,  and  proposed  making 
a  treaty  with  the  Seneca  and  Muncy  tribes,  who  were  up  the  West 
Branch,  and  were  at  variance  with  the  Delawares,  who  were  on  the 
North  Branch.  Captain  Brady  and  two  others  were  selected  by  the 
people  at  Fort  Augusta  to  go  after  the  Senecas  and  Muncys.  The 
Indians  met  them  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  and  promised  to  attend 
at  Fort  Augusta  on  the  day  appointed. 

They  came  down  about  one  hundred  strong,  and  dressed  in  war 
costume.  The  people  at  the  Fort  were  too  poor  to  give  them  any- 
thing of  value,  and  they  did  not  succeed  in  making  a  treaty.  They 
left  the  fort,  however,  in  a  good  humor,  and  taking  their  canoes, 
proceeded  homeward. 

Late  in  the  day,  Brady  thought  of  Derr's  trading-house,  and 
mounting  a  small  mare  he  had,  crossed  the  North  Branch,  rode 
home  with  all  speed.  He  saw  the  canoes  of  the  Indians  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  near  Derr's,  and,  when  near  enough,  saw  the 
squaws  working  the  canoes  over  to  his  side  of  the  river,  and  when 
they  landed  they  made  for  the  thickets  of  sumac  which  grew  on  his 
land.  They  were  conveying  the  rifles,  tomahawks,  and  knives  into 
the  thickets,  and  hiding  them.  Brady  jumped  into  a  canoe  and 
crossed  to  Derr's  trading-house,  where  he  found  the  Indians  drunk, 
and  a  barrel  of  rum  standing  on  end  before  Derr's  door,  with  the 
head  out.  He  instantly  overset  it  and  spilled  the  rum,  saying  to 
Derr,  "  My  God,  Ludwig,  what  have  you  done?"  Derr  replied, 
"  Dey  dells  me  you  gif  um  no  dreet  down  on  de  fort,  so  I  dinks  as 
I  give  um  one  here,  als  he  go  home  in  bease."  One  of  the  Indians 
told  Brady  he  would  one  day  rue  the  spilling  of  that  barrel ;  and 
Brady,  being  well  acquainted  with  the  Indian  character,  was  con- 
stantly on  his  guard  for  several  years. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  there  was  a  convention  of  the  associators,  at 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  99 

I^ancaster,  to  elect  two  brigadiers  general.  Colonel  Hunter's  bat- 
talion was  represented  by  Captain  Charles  Gillespie,  Lieutenant 
George  Calhoun,  privates  Frederick  Stone  and  Laughlin  McCart- 
ney. Colonel  Plunket's,  by  Major  John  Brady,  Lieutenant  Mor- 
decai  McKinney,  privates  Paul  Geddes  and  Andrew  Culbertson. 
Colonel  Weiser's,  by  the  colonel,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Samuel 
Maclay,  privates  Seth  Matlock  and  Jonas  Yocum.  Colonel  Potter's, 
by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Robert  Moodie,  Captain  William  Gray,  pri- 
vates James  McClenachan  and  Benjamin  Starret.  Daniel  Roberdeau 
and  James  Ewing  were  elected.  Colonel  Potter  receiving  a  very 
respectable  vote. 

July  29,  Walter  Clark  and  John  Kelly,  in  attendance  upon  the 
convention  at  Philadelphia,  petition  the  Council  of  Safety  that  they 
had  just  grounds  to  believe  that  the  county  would  be  disturbed  by 
the  Indians,  and  stated  that  there  was  not  sufficient  ammunition  in 
the  county  for  the  four  battalions  already  raised. 

The  original  of  the  following  minutes  were  given  to  the  late 
Joseph  G.  Wallace,  of  Lewisburg,  by  his  grandfather.  Captain  Wil- 
liam Gray,  of  Buffalo  Valley,  and  loaned  by  him  to  Sherman  Day, 
who  never  returned  them.  I  am  indebted  to  John  Jordan,  junior. 
Esquire,  of  Philadelphia,  for  a  printed  copy  of  them,  published  by 
the  Historical  Society  among  their  proceedings  in  1846  : 

Minutes  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Northumberland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, 

From  February  Zth,  1776,  to  April  i']th,  1777. 

[From  the  original  MS.  lately  presented  to  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.] 

On  the  Sth  of  February,  1776, 
The   following   gentlemen,  being  previously  nominated  by  the 
respective  townships  to  serve  in  this  committee,  for  the  county  of 
Northumberland,  for  the  space  of  six  months,  met  at  the  house  of 
Richard  Malone,  viz. : 

Augusta  township.  Mahoning  township. 

'  John  Weitzel,  Esquire,  William  Cook,  Esquire,  | 

Alexander  Hunter,  Esquire,  Benjamin  Allison,  Esquire, 

Thomond  Ball.  Mr.  Thomas  He  wet. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


[1776. 


Tiirbiit  hnonship. 
Captain  John  Hambright, 
William  McKnight, 
William  Shaw. 

Bald  Eagle  toiunship. 
Mr.  ^\'illiam  Uunn, 
Thomas  Hughes, 
Alexander  Hamilton. 

Wioming  township. 
Mr.  James  Alaclure, 
Mr.  Thomas  Clayton, 
Mr.  Peter  Melick. 


Mimcey  township. 
Robert  Robb,  Esquire, 
William  ^^'atson, 
John  Buckalow, 

Buff  aloe  township. 
Mr.   Walter   Clark,   removed   to 

White  Deer, 
William  Irwin, 
Joseph  Green. 

Penn's  township. 


Moughonoy  township. 


Potter  township. 
John  Livingston, 
Maurice  Davis, 
John  Hall. 


White  Deer  township. 
.  Walter  Clark, 
Matthew  Brown, 
Marcus  Huling. 
The  committee  proceeded  to  elect  a  chairman  and  clerk,  when 
Captain    John    Hambright  was    unanimously  appointed   chairman 
during  the  continuance  of  this    committee,  and    Thomond    Ball 
clerk, 

A  return  was  presented  to  this  committee,  signed  by  William 
Scull,  Esquire,  chairman  of  a  meeting  of  the  officers  and  committee- 
men of  the  lower  division  of  this  county,  held  at  Northumberland, 
the  7th  in.stant,  certifying  that  the  following  gentlemen  were  duly 
elected  field  officers  for  the  battalion  of  said  division,  viz  : 
Samuel  Hunter,  Esquire,  colonel. 
William  Cook,  Esquire,  lieutenant  colonel. 
/    Casper  Weitzel,  Esquire,  first  major. 
Mr.  John  Lee,  second  major. 


177G.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


.Resolved,  That  we  accept  of  the  same  as  a  true  return,  and  that 
the  gentlemen  therein  mentioned  be  recommended  to  the  Honorable 
Assembly  or  Committee  of  Safety  to  be  commissioned  accordingly. 

Complaint  being  made  that  the  battalion  of  the  upper  division  of 
this  county  have  not  yet  met,  so  as  to  have  a  fair  election  for  field 
officers. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  .recommended  to  the  officers,  with  three 
committeemen  from  each  township  in  said  division,  to  meet  at  the 
house  of  John  Scudder,  on  Saturday,  24th  instant,  to  elect  their 
field  officers,  and  return  them  to  this  committee  on  Monday,  26th 
instant,  in  order  to  be  recommended  to  the  Committee   of  Safety. 

Resolved,  That  the  absence  of  several  gentlemen  chosen  captains 
of  companies  in  this  county,  (upon  their  several  occasions,)  and 
such  as  did  appear  (from  the  short  notices  they  have  had)  not  being 
provided  with  as  regular  returns  of  their  officers  and  companies  as 
we  think  can  authorize  our  recommendation  of  said  captains  or  their 
subalterns  to  the  Assembly  or  Committee  of  Safety  of  this  Province, 
to  remedy  this  inconvenience  it  is  recommended  to  the  committee- 
men of  each  township  to  advertise  a  meeting  of  the  several  compa- 
nies on  Wednesday,  21st  instant,  at  such  places  as  the  majority  of 
the  committeemen  shall  think  most  convenient,  where,  under  the 
inspection  of  two  or  more  committeemen,  each  company  shall 
establish  their  present,  or  elect  other  officers,  as  they  shall  think 
proper,  and  the  captains  so  established  or  elected  shall  make  returns 
of  their  subalterns  and  companies  to  this  committee  on  Monday, 
26th  instant.  It  is  expected  that  no  gentlemen  will  offer  to  return 
a  company  that  does  not  consist  of  forty  privates  with  the  officers 
and  non-commissioned  officers,  agreeable  to  the  regulations  of  our 
Honorable  House  of  Assembly. 

Resolved,  That  if  a  committeeman  or  committeemen  be  elected 
officers,  one  or  more  magistrate  or  magistrates  present  may  certify 
for  them ;  and  if  no  magistrate  be  present,  then  two  or  more  reputa- 
ble men  certifying  for  the  justness  of  the  election,  will  be  accepted  of. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that  a  petition 
be  presented  to  the  Honorable  Assembly  of  this  Province,  setting 
forth  the  late  murder  of  two  of  the  sheriff's  posse,  near  Wioming, 
for  attempting  to  act  in  conformity  to  the  laws. 

Resolved,  That  John  Weitzel,  Esquire,   Alexander   Hunter,  Es- 


102  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

quire,  and  Mr.  Thomond  Ball,  be  a  committee  to  frame  said  petition 
and  present  it  to  this  committee  at  their  next  meeting. 

The  committee  then  adjourned  to  Monday,  26th  instant,  at  the 
house  of  Laughhn  McCartney,  in  Northumberland  town. 

Monday,  February  26th,  1776. 
The   committee  met,  according  to  adjournment,  at  the  house  of 
Laughlin    McCartney,    in    Northumberland    town.    Captain    John 
Hambright  in  the  chair. 

Messrs.  Weitzel,  Hunter  and  Ball  presented  the  form  of  a  petition 
to  the  Honorable  Assembly,  relative  to  the  Connecticut  intruders, 
which  was  approved  of  and  ordered  to  be  copied  fair. 

The  following  gentlemen  appeared  and  produced  certificates  of 
their  being  regularly  chosen  captains  of  companies  in  Colonel 
Hunter's  battalion,  and  produced  lists  of  their  subalterns,  compa- 
nies, (Sec,  viz : 

Captain,  Nicholas  Miller, 
First  Lieutenant,  Christopher  Gettig, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Nehemiah  Breese, 
First  Ensign,  Gustavus  Ross, 
Second  Ensign,  William  Sims. 

Captain,  Hugh  White, 
First  Lieutenant,  John  Forster, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Andrew  Gibson, 
Ensign,  Samuel  Young. 

Captain,  James  McMahon, 
First  Lieutenant,  John  Murray, 
Second  Lieutenant,  William  Fisher, 
Ensign,  William  Baily. 

Captain,  Charles  Gillespie, 
First  Lieutenant,  Robert  King, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Samuel  Fulton, 
First  Ensign,  William  Boyd, 
Second  Ensign,  John  Woodside. 

Captain,  William  Scull, 

First  Lieutenant,  Jonathan  Lodge, 

Second  Lieutenant,  George  Colhoun, 


1 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  103 

First  Ensign,  William  Sawyers, 
Second  Ensign,  George  Grant. 

Captain,  William  Clarke, 
First  Lieutenant,  John  Teitson, 
Second  Lieutenant,  William  McDonald, 
First  Ensign,  John  Moll. 
Resolved,  That  the  above  six  companies  appear  to  be  full  and 
regularly  officered,  and  that  they,  with  the  field  officers  of  that  bat- 
talion, be  recommended  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  to  receive  their 
respective  commissions ;  which  was  done  in  a  letter,  of  which  the 
following  is  an  abstract : 

Northumberland,  February  26,  1776. 
Gentlemen  :  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  for  this  county,  held 
this  day,  the  following  gentlemen  were  returned  as  duly  elected  field 
officers,  captains,  and  subalterns  of  a  battalion  raised  in  this  county, 
viz  :  the  officers  mentioned  above.  The  above  returns  of  six  com- 
panies belonging  to  the  battalion  expected  to  be  commanded  by 
Samuel  Hunter,  Esquire,  appear  to  be  well  and  regularly  certified 
as  complete  companies.  There  are  two  or  three  companies  more 
intend  to  belong  to  said  battalion,  but  their  captains  being  at  present 
out  of  the  county,  we  have  received  no  returns  of  them.  We  further 
have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  there  is  another  complete  battalion 
formed  in  this  county,  intended  to  be  under  the  command  of  Wil- 
liam Plunket,  Esquire ;  but  he  with  his  other  field  officers  being  so 
lately  promoted,  their  companies  have  not  had  sufficient  time  to  elect 
captains  in  their  room,  we,  therefore,  think  we  cannot  at  present,  with 
propriety  recommend  them,  but  hope  in  a  few  days  to  have  the 
honor  of  transmitting  to  you  a  proper  return  of  said  battalion.  In 
the  meantime  take  the  liberty  to  recommend  the  above  named  gen- 
tlemen to  be  commissioned  in  the  several  stations  annexed  to  their 
names. 

And  are,  gentlemen,  with  due  esteem,  your  very  humble  servants. 
By  order  of  the  committee, 

John  Hambright,  Chairman. 
To  the  Committee  of  Safety,  Philadelphia. 

Resolved,  That  as  several  companies  belonging  to  battalions  in 
this  county  have  not  yet  brought  in  their  returns,  and  it  may  be 


104  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

inconvenient  to  call  the  whole  committee  together  to  receive  their 
returns,  that  the  chairman,  with  four  others  of  the  committee,  be 
sufficient  to  receive  such  returns,  and  recommend  the  officers  to  the 
Committee  of  Safety. 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  to  Wednesday,  13th 
of  March  next,  then  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Frederick  Stone,  in 
Northumberland  town. 

Wednesday,  March  13,  1776. 

The  committee  met  at  the  house  of  Frederick  Stone,  in  North- 
umberland town,  agreeable  to  adjournment,  Captain  John  Ham- 
bright  in  the  chair,  when  the  following  gen  tlemen  made  returns  of 
their  officers,  captains,  subalterns,  &c.,  properly  certified,  viz  : 

William  Plunket,  Esquire,  Colonel, 

James  Murray,  Esquire,  Lieutenant  Colonel, 

Mr.  John  Brady,  First  Major, 

Mr.  Cookson  Long,  Second  Major. 

Captain,  Henry  Antis,  Esquire, 
First  Lieutenant,  Thomas  Brandon, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
First  Ensign,  John  Morison, 
Second  Ensign^  James  Alexander. 

Captain,  Samuel  Wallis, 
First  Lieutenant,  John  Scudder, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Peter  Jones, 
Ensign,  James  Hampton. 

Captain,  John  Robb, 

First  Lieutenant,  William  Watson,  I 

Second  Lieutenant,  Robert  Wilson, 

Ensign,  James  White. 

Captain,  William  McElhatton, 
First  Lieutenant,  Andrew  Boggs, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Thomas  Wilson, 
Ensign,  John  McCormick. 

Captain,  William  Murray, 
First  Lieutenant,  Richard  Irwin, 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  J05 

Second  Lieutenant,  Thomas  Plunkett, 
First  Ensign,  Andrtw  Robinson, 
Second  Ensign,  Benjamin  Jordon. 

Captain,  Simon  Cool, 
First  Lieutenant,  Thomas  Camplen, 
Second  Lieutenant,  James  Brandon, 
First  Ensign,  WiUiam  King, 
Second  Ensign,  James  Hewes. 

Captain,  David  Berry, 
First  Lieutenant,  WiUiam  Hammond, 
Second  Lieutenant,  Joseph  Bonser, 
Ensign,  Israel  Pershel. 

Resolved,  That  the  returns  made  of  the  above  mentioned  field 
officers  and  seven  companies  appear  to  be  regular  and  well  certified 
as  full  companies,  and  that  [the]  officers  be  recommended  to  the 
Committee  of  Safety  ;  which  [was]  done  by  letter,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy : 

Northumberland,  March  13,  1776. 

Gentlemen  :  Agreeable  to  the  promise  of  our  last  of  26th  ultimo, 
we  now  inform  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee  for  this  county, 
held  this  day,  the  following  gentlemen  were  returned  as  fairly  elected 
field  officers,  captains,  and  subalterns  of  a  battalion  raised  in  this 
county,  viz  : 

William  Plunket,  Esquire,  Colonel,  and  the  rest  as  above. 

The  above  returns  of  officers  for  a  battalion,  consisting  of  seven 
companies,  appear  to  us  to  be  regular  and  well  certified  to  be  com- 
plete companies ;  we,  therefore,  take  the  liberty  of  recommending 
said  gentlemen  to  the  respectable  Committee  of  Safety,  appointed 
for  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  to  receive  commissions  in  the 
several  stations  annexed  to  their  names.  Being  unwilling  to  trouble 
the  committee,  who,  we  apprehend,  are  already  overburthened  with 
business,  we  have  transmitted  an  enumeration  of  grievances,  under 
which  we  think  this  county  labors,  to  Samuel  Hunter,  Esquire,  our 
Representative,  and  one  of  your  respectable  body,  who  is  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstances  of  this  county,  requesting  he  may, 


io6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

if  necessary,  lay  the  same  before  you,  and  should  be  glad  of  your 
opinion  how  to  act  in  the  different  cases  therein  mentioned. 
We  are,  gentlemen,  &c. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  committee, 

John  Hambright,  Chairman. 
To  the  Committee  of  Safety,  Philadelphia. 

[Copy  of  Letter  referred  to  in  the  above.] 

Northumberland,  March  \2yth,  ^lid. 
Sir  :  We  have  this  day  wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  re- 
commending officers  of  another  battalion,  to  wit  :  Colonel  Plun- 
ket's.  We  had  it  in  contemplation  to  write  to  the  Committee  of 
Safety  concerning  the  recruiting  parties  that  have  lately  been 
amongst  us  and  taken  away  some  good  men,  when  both  officers 
and  men  could  be  sent  from  this,  if  any  ought  to  be  sent  out  of 
the  county.  It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  inform  you  of  our  situation, 
as  you  are  so  well  acquainted  with  it.  There  have  been  different 
applications  to  us  for  recommendations  as  officers  of  companies  to 
be  raised  in  this  county,  to  go  into  immediate  service.  We  are 
somewhat  at  a  loss  what  to  do ;  but  would  be  desirous,  if  men  are 
to  be  taken  for  the  continental  service  out  of  this  county,  officers 
should  go  with  them.  We,  not  considering  it  proper  to  trouble  the 
Committee  of  Safety  with  our  sentiments  on  this  occasion,  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  write  to  you,  with  an  intention  to  get  your 
advice  upon  the  matter,  as  we  cannot  prevent  recruiting  parties 
from  coming  amongst  us,  or  stop  men  from  going  into  the  army 
out  of  this  county.  If  more  battalions  should  be  raised,  or  more 
men  wanted,  would  it  not  be  proper,  from  our  situation  as  a  frontier 
county,  to  have  two  or  three  companies  raised,  officered,  and  disci-^ 
plined,  and  put  into  immediate  pay;  and  if  not  wanted  nearer 
home,  to  be  always  in  readiness  to  go  upon  any  service  on  which 
the  continent  may  have  occasion  for  them.  We  have  sufficient 
information  that  Hawkins  Boone  has  enlisted  several  men  in  this 
county,  and  has  declared  his  having  received  his  authority  and 
money  from  the  Congress  for  that  purpose,  and  that  he  is  to  be  a 
guard  to  the  Congress.  By  this  conduct  he  has  drawn  off  some 
men  from  the  different  companies  of  military  associators.  We  have, 
as  a  committee  of  the  county,  taken  liberty  to  cite  him  to  appear 


1776.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  107 

before  some  of  us,  and  show  by  what  authority  he  has  undertaken  so 
to  do ;  but  he  has  not  appeared.  We  think  when  men  are  enlisted 
in  this  county,  we  have  a  right  to  know  for  what  service  they  are 
enhsted.  It  is  from  our  zeal  for  the  good  cause  now  carrying  on 
that  we  are  desirous  to  know  the  reason  of  such  procedure.  This, 
if  you  think  proper,  you  may  communicate  to  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  and  are  requesting  your  advice  how  to  act. 
With  due  respect,  your  very  humble  servants. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  committee, 

John  Hambright,  Chairman. 
To  Samuel  Hunter,  Esquire,  Philadelphia. 

Information  being  given  to  the  committee  that  a  certain  Haw- 
kins Boone  is  now  enlisting  men  in  this  county,  without  giving  any 
satisfactory  account  for  what  purpose  or  service  the  said  men  are 
enlisted. 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  this  committee  call  upon  the 
said  Hawkins  Boone,  by  letter  or  otherwise,  to  appear  before  him 
and  two  or  more  of  said  committee,  as  he,  the  chairman,  shall  think 
expedient,  on  such  day  and  at  such  place  as  he  shall  appoint,  to 
show  cause  why  he,  the  said  Boone,  enlists  men  as  aforesaid. 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  to  Monday,  25th 
of  March,  instant,  then  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Thomond  Ball,  in 
Sunbury. 

Monday,  March  25//^,  1776. 

The  committee  met  pursuant  to  adjournment  at  the  house  of 
Thomond  Ball,  in  Sunbury,  Captain  John  Hambright  in  the  chair. 

Resolved,  That  it  appears  to  this  committee  that  several  recruit- 
ing officers  belonging  to  the  battalions  of  different  counties  in  this 
Province,  have  lately  come  to  this  infant  frontier  county  and  drained 
it  of  a  number  of  useful  men,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  same. 

Resolved,  That  for  the  future  no  officer  or  non-commissioned 
officer  be  allowed  to  recruit  men  in  this  county,  except  the  officers 
who  are  or  may  be  appointed  therein. 

John  Simpson,  Esquire,  presented  a  return,  wherein  appears  the 
following  list  of  officers,  the  company  belonging  to  Colonel  Hun- 
ter's battalion,  viz : 


io8  ■  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1776. 

Captain,  John  Simpson,  Esquire. 

First  Lieutenant,  Robert  Curry. 

Second  Lieutenant,  John  Ewart. 

First  Ensign,  Thomas  Gaskins. 

Second  Ensign,  David  Mead. 

Resolved,  That  the  same  appears  a  full  company,  and  that  the 

gentlemen  therein   mentioned  as  officers,  be   recommended  to  the 

Committee  of  Safety  to  receive  their  several  commissions ;  which 

was  done  accordingly,  by  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

SuNBURY,  2']th  March,  iTt6. 
Gentlemen  :  Our  last  to  you  was  of  13th  instant,  recommending 
William  Plunket,  Esquire,  colonel,  with  other  officers  of  a  battalion 
commanded  by  said  colonel.  At  this  meeting,  John  Simpson, 
Esquire,  presents  a  return  in  which  it  appears  that  he  is  captain, 
Robert  Curry,  first,  and  John  Ewart,  second  lieutenants,  Thomas 
Gaskins,  first,  and  David  Mead  second  ensign,  which  is  well  certi- 
fied to  be  a  full  company,  belonging  to  Col.  Hunter's  battalion  ; 
we,  therefore,  take  the  liberty  of  recommending  said  gentlemen  to 
receive  commissions  agreeable  to  the  ranks  to  which  the  people 
have  appointed  them.  We  are  now,  gentlemen,  to  inform  you  of 
what  we  think  a  grievance  to  this  young  and  thinly  inhabited 
county,  viz  :  a  constant  succession  of  recruiting  officers  from  dif- 
ferent counties  in  this  Province.  Our  zeal  for  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can liberty  has  hitherto  prevented  our  taking  any  steps  to  hinder 
the  raising  of  men  for  its  service,  but  finding  the  evil  increasing  so 
fast  upon  us  as  almost  to  threaten  the  depopulation  of  the  county, 
we  cannot  help  appealing  to  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  your  com- 
mittee to  know  whether  the  quota  of  men  that  may  be  demanded 
from  this  county  under  their  own  officers  is  not  as  much  as  can 
reasonably  be  expected  from  it.  Whether,  at  a  time  when  we  are 
uncertain  of  peace  with  the  Indians,  (well  knowing  that  our  ene- 
mies are  tampering  with  them,)  and  a  claim  is  set  up  to  the  greatest 
part  of  this  Province  by  a  neighboring  Colony  who  have  their  hos- 
tile abettors  at  our  very  breasts,  as  well  as  their  emissaries  amongst 
us,  is  it  prudent  to  drain  an  infant  frontier  county  of  its  strength  of 
men  ?  and  whether  the  safety  of  the  interior  parts  of  the  Province 
would  not  be  better  secured  by  adding  strength  to  the  frontiers  ? 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


log 


Whether  our  Hon.  Assembly,  by  disposing  of  commissions  to 
gentlemen  in  different  counties  to  raise  companies  which  are  to 
form  the  number  of  battalions  thought  necessary  for  the  defense  of 
the  Province,  did  not  intend  that  the  respective  captains  should 
raise  their  companies  where  they  [were]  appointed;  and  not  dis- 
tress our  county  by  taking  from  it  all  the  men  necessary  for  the 
business  of  agriculture,  as  well  as  the  defense  of  the  same?  From 
our  knowledge  of  the  state  of  this  county,  we  make  free  to  give  our 
opinion  of  what  would  be  most  for  its  advantage,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  Province,  (between  which  we  hope  there  never  will  be  a  differ- 
ence,) and  first  are  to  inform  you  [of]  the  poverty  of  the  people, 
many  of  whom  came  bare  and  naked  here,  being  plundered  by  a 
banditti  who  call  themselves  Yankees,  and  those  who  brought  some 
property  with  them,  from  the  necessary  delay  of  cultivating  a  wil- 
derness before  they  could  have  any  produce  to  live  upon,  together 
with  the  necessity  of  still  continuing  the  closest  application  to  labor 
and  industry  for  their  support,  renders  it  morally  improbable  that  a 
well  disciplined  militia  can  be  established  here,  as  the  distance 
which  some  men  are  obliged  to  go  to  muster  is  the  loss  of  two  days 
to  them,  which,  not  being  paid  for,  they  will  not,  nor  indeed  can 
they,  so  often  attend  as  is  necessary  to  complete  them  even  in  the 
manual  exercise.  We  would  recommend  that  two  or  more  com- 
panies be  raised  and  put  in  pay  for  the  use  of  the  Province,  to  be 
ready  to  march  when  and  where  the  service  may  require  them,  and 
when  not  wanted  for  the  service  of  the  public  at  any  particular 
place,  to  be  stationed  in  this  county  in  order  to  be  near  and  defend 
our  frontier,  should  they  be  attacked  by  our  enemies  of  any  denomi- 
nation, the  good  effect  of  which,  we  imagine,  would  be  consider- 
able, as  though  they  may  be  too  few  to  repel,  they  may  stop  the 
progress  of  an  enemy  until  the  militia  could  be  raised  to  assist  them. 
Should  this  proposal  appear  eligible,  please  to  inform  us  thereof, 
and  we  wiU  recommend  such  gentlemen  for  officers  as  we  think  will 
be  most  suitable  for  the  service  and  agreeable  to  the  people. 

We  are,  gentlemen,  with  due  respect,  your  very  humble  servants. 
Signed  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  committee, 

John  Hambright,  Chairman. 

To  the  Committee  of  Saffty,  Philadelphia. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


(177(5. 


August  y^  13,  1776. 
The  following  gentlemen    being    unanimously  chosen    by   their 
respective  townships  to  serve  in  the  committee  for  the  county  of 
Northumberland,  for  the  space  of  six  months,  met  at  school-house 
in  the  town  of  Northumberland,  viz  : 


For  Augusta  township. 
Mr.  William  McClay, 
Mr.  David  McKinney, 
Mr.  John  McClay. 

Turbit  township. 
George  McCandish, 
Wm.  Shaw, 
Paul  Geddis. 


Mahoning  township. 
Laughlan  McCartney, 
Thomas  Robinson, 
John  Boyd. 

Muncy  township. 

Mordecai  McKinney, 
James  Giles, 
Andrew  Culbertson. 


Buff  aloe  township. 
Martin  Treaster, 
William  Speedy, 
Philip  Coal. 

Penn's  township. 
Simeon  Woodrow, 
Adam  Bolinger, 
Paul  Gemberling. 


Bald  Eagle  township. 
Robert  Fleming, 
Thomas  Campling, 
John  Section. 

Wyoming  township. 
Samuel  McClure, 
Peter  Meelick, 
John  Clingman. 

Moughonoy  township.  Potter  township. 

Bastian  Brossius, 
George  Reitz, 
Peter  Almang. 

White  Deer  township. 
James  McClanachan, 
Robert  Fruit, 
Wm.  Gray. 
The  committee  proceeded  to  elect  a  chairman  and  clerk,  when 
Mr.  Robert  Fruit  was  unanimously  appointed  chairman  during  the 
time  of  si.\  months,  and  John  Boyd,  clerk. 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  in 

I  St.  Resolved,  That  no  complaint  be  received  by  this  committee 
that  arises  in  any  township  and  does  not  respect  the  county  at  large, 
except  upon  an  appeal  from  the  township  committee,  and  that  such 
appeal  be  delivered  in  writing,  as  well  as  all  complaints  that  are  re- 
ceived, and  that  all  complaints  be  signed  by  the  persons  aggrieved 
or  complaining. 

2d.  Resolved,  That  Andrew  Culbertson,  Mordecai  McKinney, 
and  James  Giles,  call  upon  Colonel  Wm.  Plunket  for  the  dividend  of 
ammunition  belonging  to  the  six  companies  of  his  battalion  that  lie 
above  Muncy,  and  in  case  it  is  inconvenient  for  him  to  make  the 
dividend,  Laughlan  McCartney,  at  whose  house  the  ammunition  is 
lodged,  is  hereby  desired  to  do  it  and  deliver  the  quotas  allotted 
for  the  aforesaid  six  companies  to  the  aforesaid  Andrew  Culbertson, 
Mordecai  McKinney,  and  James  Giles,  who  are  to  deliver  the  same 
to  the  respective  captains,  and  by  them  kept  in  some  convenient 
dry  place,  ready  to  be  delivered  out  when  occasion  requires. 

3d.  Resolved,  That  the  committee,  or  any  two  of  them,  belonging 
to  the  other  three  battalions  of  this  county,  call  upon  Laughlan 
McCartney  for  their  equal  dividend  of  what  ammunition  is  in  hand, 
and  deliver  to  the  respective  captains  in  each  battalion  an  equal 
dividend  of  said  ammunition  according  to  their  number  of  men,  and 
by  them  kept  secure  in  some  convenient  dry  place,  ready  to  be  de- 
livered out  when  occasion  requires. 

4th.  Resolved,  That  each  colonel  recommend  to  their  respective 
captains  to  use  all  possible  exertions  to  have  any  arms  that  are  out 
of  repair  put  in  as  good  order  as  soon  as  possible. 

As  this  committee  is  informed  of  a  quantity  powder  and  lead  at 
Mr.  John  Harris's  ferry,  which  belongs  to  the  associators  of  this 
county,  we  do  recommend  Major  John  Lee  and  Captain  Charles 
Gillespy  as  two  suitable  persons  for  to  bring  up  the  same,  and  we  do 
appoint  Laughlan  McCartney  and  John  Boyd  for  to  agree  with  them 
for  the  bringing  up  of  the  said  ammunition. 

5th.  Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  to  Tuesday, 
the  loth  of  September  next,  to  meet  in  the  town  of  Northumber- 
land. 


AN.\ALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1776. 


Tuesday y^  lo  of  Septetnber,  1776. 

The  committee  met  according  to  adjournment,  in  the  town  of 
Northumberland,  Mr.  Robert  Fruit  in  the  chair. 

Complaint  being  made  to  this  committee  against  Mr.  Aaron  Levy 
and  John  Bullion,  setting  forth  that  the  aforesaid  Levy  and  Bullion 
have  a  quantity  of  salt  on  hand,  which  they  refuse  to  sell  for  cash, 
by  a  former  resolve  of  the  committee. 

Resolved,  That  the  aforesaid  salt  that  is  in  the  hands  of  the  afore- 
said Levy  and  Bullion,  (as  they  have  refused  the  same  for  sale,) 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  William  Sayers,  and  by  him  sold  at 
the  rate  of  fifteen  shillings  per  bushel,  and  not  to  sell  unto  any  family 
above  half  a  bushel  for  the  time  that  the  said  salt  is  selling,  and  that 
the  said  Sayers  shall  keep  a  particular  account  of  every  bushel  that 
he  sells,  and  when  sold,  he  shall  return  the  money  arising  from  said 
salt  to  this  committee,  first  deducting  one  shilling  out  of  the  pound 
for  his  trouble  of  selling  said  salt,  and  six  shillings  and  four  pence 
for  porterage. 

A  complaint  being  made  to  this  committee  against  two  certain 
men,  namely,  William  Chattim  and  James  Parker,  of  not  behaving  ■ 
themselves  as  friends  to  our  country  in  general,  and  had  armed 
themselves  with  two  pistols ;  therefore,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  aforesaid  Chattim  and  Parker  should  be  sent 
for  and  examined. 

Being  brought  before  the  committee  and  examined,  they  con- 
fessed themselves  to  be  two  of  his  His  Britannic  Majesty's  soldiers, 
and  both  prisoners.  Therefore,  this  committee  thought  it  most 
proper  to  convey  the  two  aforesaid  men  into  the  care  of  Lancaster 
committee,  where  we  understand  there  is  a  number  of  their  fellow 
prisoners,  and  that  the  aforesaid  arms  should  be  sold  at  public  sale, 
and  the  money  arising  from  the  sale  of  said  arms,  should,  as  far  as 
it  would  admit  of,  be  put  to  discharge  of  such  expenses  as  would 
arise  for  the  trouble  of  said  prisoners. 

And  as  there  was  a  bill  of  expenses  produced  to  this  committee 
by  John  Chattim,  against  the  two  aforesaid  prisoners,  and  he  refus- 
ing to  approve  the  same,  it  was  Resolved,  that  the  aforesaid  bill  shall 
not  be  accepted  of  by  this  committee  unless  the  aforesaid  John 
Chattim  do  prove  the  same. 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  iij 

Septeitiber  12th,  i^jO. 

On  examination  of  the  two  different  quantities  of  ammunition 
heretofore  forwarded  to  the  care  of  the  committee  of  this  county, 
and  on  a  careful  examination  of  the  number  of  associators  in  this 
county,  it  appears  that  the  quota  of  each  associator  is  half  a  pound 
of  powder  and  one  pound  of  lead. 

And  Whereas,  the  greater  part  of  Col.  Plunket's  battalion  are 
situated  on  the  frontier,  and  the  most  exposed  parts  of  this  county ; 
therefore,  Resolved,  that  the  further  quantity  of  eighty-nine  pounds 
of  powder  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  pounds  of  lead  be 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Fleming,  Mr.  Jackson,  Mr.  Kemp- 
ling,  Mr.  Culbertson,  and  Mr.  Giles,  and  that  the  same  be  by  them 
delivered  among  the  different  captains  of  the  said  battalion,  with 
the  strictest  charge  that  the  same  be  preserved  for  the  purposes  of  the 
defense  of  this  county.  The  same  division  to  be  made  with  a  proper 
regard  to  the  different  number  in  each  company. 

And  it  is  further  Resolved,  that  the  further  quantity  of  eighty-six 
pounds  and  three  quarters  of  powder  and  the  quantity  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  pounds  and  one  half  of  lead,  be  delivered 
to  Mr.  Fruit,  Mr.  Gray,  Mr.  McClenachan,  Mr.  Shaw,  Mr.  Mc- 
Candles  and  Mr.  Geddis,  to  be  by  them  distributed  among  the  cap- 
tains of  Col.  Potter's  battalion,  in  such  sort,  that  each  private  have 
one  quarter  of  powder,  and  half  a  pound  of  lead.  Captain  McMil- 
lan's company  excepted,  who  are  to  have  each  half  a  pound  of  pow- 
der and  one  pound  of  lead. 

And  it  is  further  Resolved,  that  the  further  quantity  of  fifty  pounds 
of  powder  and  one  hundred  pounds  of  lead  be  delivered  to  Mr.  Coal, 
Mr.  Treaster,  Mr.  Bolander,  Mr.  Brousers  and  Mr.  Ritz,  by  them 
to  be  divided  among  the  captains  of  Col.  Wiser's  battalion  in  the 
same  proportions  as  the  former  fifty  weight  of  powder  was  directed 
to  be  divided. 

It  is  likewise  further  Resolved^  that  the  additional  quantity  of  fifty 
pounds  of  powder  and  one  hundred  weight  of  lead  be  delivered  to 
John  Maclay,  Laughlin  McCartney,  and  James  McClure,  to  be  by 
them  divided  among  the  captains  of  Col.  Hunter's  battalion,  in 
due  proportion  to  the  number  of  privates  in  their  respective  com- 
panies. 

Whereas,  This  committee  being  informed  by  one  of  our  members 
8 


114  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

of  convention,  that  there  is  a  dividend  of  salt  in  Philadelphia,  which 
is  allotted  for  this  county,  by  a  late  resolve  of  convention,  wherefore, 
this  committee  thought  proper  to  appoint  two  suitable  persons  to  go 
to  Philadelphia  and  take  charge  of  said  salt,  and  [to]  be  by  them 
conveyed  to  this  county  and  delivered  to  the  care  of  this  committee. 
Therefore,  William  Maclay  and  Mordecai  McKinney  were  unani- 
imously  appointed  by  this  committee  for  the  purpose  above  men- 
tioned. 

Resolved,  That  the  salt  belonging  to  this  county  is  to  be  sold  at 
fifteen  shillings  per  bushel. 

A  complaint  being  laid  unto  this  committee  by  Samuel  Dail 
against  Col.  William  Plunket,  the  same  being  read,  was  postponed 
until  our  next  meeting. 

A  record  of  Mr.  Robert  Fruit's  letter  to  this  committee,  respecting 
salt,  &c. : 

Philadelphia,  November  23,  1776. 

Gentlemen  :  I  have  received  from  the  Council  of  Safety,  in  this 
city,  seventy-seven  bushels  of  salt  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Northumberland,  which  I  have  delivered  to  Marcus 
Hulings  to  forward  up. 

It  is  delivered  to  me  on  the  express  condition  of  being  divided 
amongst  those  of  the  inhabitants  who  did  not  get  any  part  of  the 
former  quantity ;  therefore,  you  will  please  to  take  notice  to  inform 
the  county  of  this  exception,  when  you  advertise  for  the  distribution 
of  it.  Mr.  Hulings  has  advanced  all  the  money  for  the  salt,  together 
with  all  costs,  &:c. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  very  humble  servant, 

Robert  Fruit. 

To  the  Committee  of  Northumberland  County. 

The  Committee  of  the  County  of  Northumberland, 

To  Marcus  Hulings,  Dr. 

For  cash  paid  the  Council  of  Safety,  in  Philadelphia, 

for  seventy  seven-bushels  of  salt,  at  1 5  J  per  bushel,  ;^  57   15 
For  cash  paid  for  casks,  to  pack  said  salt         .  .  3 

Porterage  and  cooperage,         .....  18 


i 


1776.J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  X15 

Cash  paid  Hugh  Cook  for  carriage  of  seventy-^ieven 

bushels  of  salt,  from  Philadelphia  to  Middletown,  ;^i3     9     6 

Storage  at  Middletown,         .....  86 

Carriage  from  Middletown  to  Northumberland,   .  1 1   1 1 


^  87     2     o 

December  14,  1776. 

The  committee  met,  by  express  from  Captain  John  Brady,  upon 

sundry  charges,  produced  by  said  Brady,  against  a  certain  Robert 

Robb.     Sundry   evidences  were   referred  to,  to  prove  the  several 

charges  against  said  Robb,  which  are  as  follows  : 

The  evidence  of  Thomas  Netvman  against  Robert  Robb. 

This  deponent,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and  saith  that  said 
Robb  had  a  paper,  at  a  certain  house,  where  they  were  erecting  a 
chimney,  which  paper  was  supposed  to  be  from  Lord  Howe,  con- 
cerning conditions  of  peace,  of  which  said  Robb  said  this  is  the  very 
thing  I  would  be  at ;  says  further,  Mr.  Frankling  was  a  rogue,  he 
'  well  knew,  and  that  he  has  led  the  Government  into  two  or  three 
scrapes  already  known  to  him.  Also,  it  was  thought  Frankling  had 
a  pension  from  home ;  likewise  that  it  was  thought  the  convention  was 
bribed.  Also,  said  Robb  says  that  Lord  Howe  used  the  members  of 
Congress  politely  that  were  sent  to  treat  with  him,  but  that  they  used 
him  ill. 

And  that,  as  this  deponent  was  one  of  the  township  committee, 
he,  the  said  Robb,  thought  it  was  proper  he  should  call  a  few  of  the 
township  together,  to  consult  concerning  these  things.  And  further 
saith  not. 

his 

Thomas  X  Newman. 

mark. 

Joseph  Newman^ s  evidence  against  said  Robb. 

That  Robert  Robb  read,  at  the  aforesaid  place,  a  paper,  [which] 
(as  the  deponent  supposeth,)  was  a  declaration  of  peace  from  Lord 
Howe,  and  asked  this  deponent's  father  if  he  would  call  a  few  of 
the  neighbors  to  consult  concerning  it,  and  that  his  father  refused 
to  do  it.     And  concerning  the  members  of  Congress,  Mr.  Robb 


lib  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

said  Lord  Howe  used  them  politely,  and   they  used  him   ill.     And 
as  tor  Mr.   Frankling,  there  were  very  hard  thoughts  of  him,  and 
that  it  was  thought  he  had  a  pension  from  home ;   also  that  it  was 
thought  there  was  bribery  in  the  convention. 
And  further  saith  not. 

Joseph  Newman. 

The  substance  of  John  Mor-ris'  evidence  against  Robert  Robb. 

This  deponent  saith  he  heard  Robert  Robb  read  a  paper  concern- 
ing terms  of  peace  from  Lord  Howe.  Said  Robb  was  asked  why 
this  paper  was  not  made  public  sooner.  Robb  said,  because  it  was 
kept  back  by  the  Congress  and  committees  below.  Said  Robb  said, 
also,  it  is  well  known  what  Writtenhouse  and  Frankling  was.  Mr. 
Newman  asked  said  Robb  what  was  the  reason  there  was  such  men 
in  Congress.  Robb  said  it  was  thought  there  was  bribery  in  the 
convention;  also  said,  it  was  a  minority  that  held  this  new  form  of 
government,  and  that  the  majority  would  not  be  ruled  by  the 
minority. 

And  further  saith  not. 

John  INIorkis. 

The  substance  of  James  Giles'  evidence. 

This  deponent  saith,  that  he  saw  Mr.  Robb  pull  out  a  paper  at 
the  aforesaid  building,  read  it,  which  he  said  was  printed  in  New 
York  near  three  months  ago.  Mr.  Newman  asked  said  Robb  how- 
it  came  to  be  kept  back.  This  deponent  saith,  he  understood  Mr. 
Robb  said  it  was  our  rulers  kept  it  back,  and  that  the  substance  of 
the  above  paper  was  terms  of  peace  from  Lord  Howe. 

And  further  saith  not. 

James  Giles. 

The  evidence  of  George  Silverthornfor  Robert  Robb,  viz  : 

This  deponent,  being  at  Mr.  Robl)'s  house,  and  from  there  went 
together  to  a  chimney  raising  in  the  neighborhood.  After  a  while 
said  Robb  pulled  out  a  handbill  which  gave  an  account  of  General 
Washington's  army  being  in  need  of  a  reinforcement,  and  Mr.  Robb 
said  in  public,  that  it  was  necessary  for  every  one  to  turn  out  that 
would  go.     However,  after  a  while,  Mr.  Robb  pulled  out  another 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  iij 

paper,  which  he  saiei  was  a  declaration  of  peace,  from  Lord  Howe, 
and  read  it  in  public.  After  reading  the  said  paper,  Mr.  Robb  said 
he  came  on  purpose  to  see  Mr.  Newman,  and  whether  or  not  he 
thought  proper  to  call  some  of  the  neighbors  together,  in  order  to 
see  whether  or  not  the  said  declaration  was  of  any  effect  or  not,  as 
he  was  one  of  the  town  committee,  or  how  they  would  take  it,  as  he 
would  not  depend  upon  his  own  judgment  on  such  an  occasion,  as 
being  but  one  person.  And  this  deponent  saith,  that  after  the 
papers  came  out  which  gave  an  account  of  what  passed  between 
General  Howe  and  them  at  Staten  Island,  this  deponent  was  telling 
said  Robb  that  he  had  heard  them  read  at  Mr.  McKinney's,  and 
that  Mr.  Robb  said  that  he  thought  it  would  not  be  proper  to  lay 
down  their  arms  till  peace  would  be  concluded  on  better  terms  than 
these  for  the  benefit  of  the  country. 
And  further  saith  not. 

George  Silverthorn. 

Lieutenant  John  Scudder,  being  duly  sworn,  saith  that  Robert 
Robb  said  that  the  King's  troops  are  able  to  learn  us  to  beat  them- 
selves, as  Peter  the  Great  said  of  Charles,  King  of  Sweden,  and 
that  the  said  Robb  never  did  anything  against  the  cause  of 
America,  but  always  encouraged  the  same,  to  the  best  of  his  know- 
ledge ;  and  further  saith,  that  Mr.  Newman  charged  Robert  Robb 
with  discouraging  people  going  into  the  service,  and  that  George 
Silverthorn  and  his  family  were  the  people. 

And  further  saith  not. 

John  Scudder. 

December  i']th,  1776. 

Northumberland  County. — The  committee  of  this  county, 
taking  the  proofs  and  allegations  for  and  against  Robert  Robb 
under  their  serious  consideration,  do  judge  that  the  said  Robb  hath 
behaved  in  such  manner  as  gives  just  grounds  for  this  committee  to 
suspect  him  of  being  not  only  unfriendly,  but  inimical,  to  our  com- 
mon cause  ;   therefore, 

Resolved,  That  said  Robert  Robb  shall  either  take  his  gun  and 
march  immediately  with  the  militia  of  this  county  into  actual  ser- 
vice, for  the  defense  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  wipe  off  the 
present  evil  suspicions,  or  otherwise  to  be  committed  to  the  care  of 


ij8  annals  of  buffalo  VALLEY.  [1776. 

Lieut.  Col.  James  Murray,  of  the  second  battalion,  to  be  by  him 
sent  to  some  proper  place  of  confinement,  until  released  by  further 
authority.     Signed  by  order  of  the  committee. 

Paul  Geddis,  Chairman. 

December  \Zth,  ^lld. 
The  above  Robert  Robb  desires  to  appeal  to  the  Council  of  Safety 
of  this  State  : 

Resolved,  That  said  Robb  may  appeal  to  said  council,  under  the 

care  of  the  said  Col.  Murray. 

Paul  Geddis,  Chairman. 

Muster  Roll  of  Captain  Casper  WeitzeV s  Company,  in  the  first  Bat- 
talion of  Pennsylvania  Regifnent  of  Rip  emen  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Samuel  Miles.      Camp  near  Kings  bridge,  September  i,  1776. 

Captain — Casper  Weitzel,  Esquire,  of  Sunbury  appointed  March 
9,  1776. 

First  Lieutenant — William  Gray,  appointed  March  15  ;  captured 
August  27  ;  exchanged  December  8,  1776,  for  Lieutenant  Thompson. 

Second  Lieutenant — John  Robb,  appointed  March  16,  1776, 
promoted  captain  i8th  April,  1777. 

Third  Lieutenant — George  Grant,  appointed  March  19,  1776, 
captain  in  the  9th  P.  C.  L.     Died  loth  October,  1779. 

Sergeant  Major — John  Gordon. 

Sergeants — Jacob  Snider,  Thomas  Price,  William  Orr,  Thomas 
Shanks. 

Drummer — John  Everard.     September  i,  sick  at  New  York. 

Privates — 'Allison,  William;  Arthur,  John;  Aumiller,  John; 
Barr,  William  ;  'Brady,  Peter ;  Brinson,  Stout ;  Burke,  John  ;  Car- 
son, Samuel;  Carson,  William,  junior;  Carson,  William,  senior; 
'Carter,  Andrew;  Carter,  Charles;  'Caruthers,  Robert;  Chisnell, 
James;  Clark,  William;  Clayton,  James;  Connell,  Jeffry;  Cribs, 
John;  Curry,  David;  Davis,  Peter;  Doran,  Edward;  Durell,  David; 
Durell,  Stephen ;  Elder,  James ;  Ewig,  Christian ;  'Gass,  Henry ; 
Gerhart,  Henry;  Glover,  James;  Hardy,  John;  Harper,  W'illiam  ; 
Hissom,  Thomas;  'Huggins,  Dennis;  Hunt,  Elijah;  Irvine,  James; 
'Kerstetter,  Martin;  Little,  Thomas;   McCleane,  Charles;  'McCor- 

'  Missing  after  Hie  battle  of  Long  Island,  August '27. 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  rig 

mick,  William  ;  McDonald,  John ;  Mclnnis,  Patrick ;  McManus, 
Patrick;  McMath,  William;  ^McVey,  Patrick;  Madden,  Joseph; 
Miller,  Henry ;  ^Morehead,  Robert :  Newman,  Richard ;  Noland, 
Michael ;  Ralston,  Andrew ;  Randolph,  James ;  ^Rice,  John ;  Sands, 
John ;  Shaffer,  John ;  ^Spiess,  Jacob ;  Staples,  Samuel ;  Turner, 
David;  ^Watt,  James;  Wilson,  Robert;  Winters,  Christian;  Wolcot, 
Silas. 

Lieutenant  William  Gray,  afterwards  Captain  Gray,  died  at  Sun- 
bury,  July  1 8,  1804,  aged  fifty-four. 

Sergeant  Price  ended  his  days  in  a  small  log  house  on  Water 
street,  in  Selinsgrove.  It  seems  he  was  carried  to  Halifax,  in  Nova 
Scotia.  Made  his  escape  traveling  through  the  vast  forests  interven- 
ing between  that  country  and  the  nearest  American  settlements. 
See  History  of  West  Branch,  page  109.  In  a  letter  to  Honorable 
Samuel  Maclay,  member  of  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  dated  Penn's 
township,  December  4,  1798,  written  in  a  very  good  hand,  he  com- 
plains that  he  had  been  three  times  elected  colonel,  beating  Charles 
Drum  twice  and  Frederick  Evans  once,  and  yet  had  not  been  com- 
missioned, because,  as  he  says,  it  was  alleged  that  he  was  too  poor 
for  such  a  post.  He  says,  "  I  settled  in  these  parts  before  the  war, 
and  have  resided  here  ever  since,  except  while  I  was  out  in  the 
army.  I  enlisted  in  Captain  Weitzel's  company,  and  was  wounded 
and  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  I  underwent  many 
hardships,  but  at  last  found  means  to  escape,  returned  to  the  army, 
and  served  my  time  out ;  was  honorably  discharged,  and  never  re- 
ceived my  pay.  Soon  after  my  return  home  I  was  elected  adjutant, 
and  continued  in  that  post  many  years.  Afterwards  was  elected 
major." 

Associators. 

On  the  31st  of  August  the  field  officers  for  the  battalion  in  Buffalo 
and  Penn's  townships  were  chosen,  and  the  8th  of  October  commis- 
sions were  issued  to  them  as  fourth  battalion  of  Northumberland 
county  associators  and  to  the  company  officers  : 

Colonel — Cole,  Philip. 

Lieutenant  Colonel — Sutherland,  Thomas. 

First  Major — Foster,  Tliomas. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 


Second  Major — Yost,  Casper. 
Standard  Bearer — Miller,  Devvalt. 
Adjutant — McCoy,  James. 

Company  No.  i. 

Captain — Clarke,  John. 
First  Lieutenant — Pontius,  Henry. 
Second  Lieutenant — Moore,  James. 
Ensign — Watson,  Patrick. 

Four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  one  drummer,  one  fifer,  and 
forty-six  privates,  certified  by  me,  this  26th  day  of  September,  1776. 
John  Clarke,  captain. 

Second  Company. 
Captain — Weaver,  Michael. 

Third  Company. 
Captain — Links,  Jacob. 

Fo2irth  Company. 

Captain — Weirick,  William. 
First  Lieutenant — Sherred,  Jacob. 
Second  Lieutenant — Gill,  William. 
Ensign — Moon,  Nicholas. 

Four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  one  drummer,  one  fifer,  forty 
privates.  The  whole  of  the  above  as  associators  testified  by  me,  this 
26th  day  of  September,  1776.     William  Weirick,  Captain. 

Fifth  Company. 

Captain — Wolff,  George. 
Y\x?X  Lieutenant — Conrad,  George. 
Second  Lieutenant — Wildgoose,  Michael. 
Ensign — Hessler,  John. 

Four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  one  drummer,  one  fifer,  forty- 
one  privates. 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  121 

Sixth  Company. 

Captain — Overmeier,  George. 
First  Lieutenant — McCelvey,  James. 
Second  Lieutenant — Weirick,  Peter. 
Ensign — Snyder,  Michael. 

Four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  one  drummer,  one  fifer,  forty 
privates.  The  whole  of  the  above  as  associators  testified  by  me,  this 
26th  day  of  September,  1776.     Captain  George  Overmeier. 

This  battalion,  or  rather  drafts  from  it,  went  into  service  in  Decem- 
ber, when  Colonel  Cole  was  with  part  of  it  at  Reading.  Colonel 
Brodhead  writes  that  he  made  use  of  a  company  from  Buffalo  Valley 
to  apprehend  some  of  the  disaffected  and  to  compel  some  of  the 
militia  of  Berks  to  march. 

It  is  probable  that  when  the  danger  to  Philadelphia  became  im- 
minent, officers  and  men  volunteered  to  fill  up  Captain  Clarke's 
company,  as  we  find  their  names*  on  the  following  roll.  I  am  in- 
debted to  John  C.  Watson,  of  West  Buffalo  township,  a  grandson 
of  Captain  Clarke,  for  an  old  account  book  which  contained  the 
names.  The  company  left  the  Valley  on  the  5th  of  December,  and 
served  three  months  and  eighteen  days. 

It  appears  from  some  memorandums  in  this  book,  that  the  com- 
pany did  not  leave  Reading  until  the  3d  of  January,  1777,  and 
consequently  did  not  participate  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  but  was 
in  the  subsequent  skirmishes.  It  was  attached  to  Colonel  Potter's 
second  battalion,  Lieutenant  Colonel  James  Murray,  Majors  John 
Kelly  and  Thomas  Robinson.  Joseph  Green  assigned  as  surgeon's 
mate  to  Doctor  Benjamin  Allison.  Four  companies,  Clarke's,  Lee's, 
Taggart's,  Cookson  Long's,  had  casualties  during  the  campaign  : 

Roll  of  Captain  John  Clarke's  Company. 
Allen,  Robert ;  Augustine,  Hieronimus ;  Barnett,  Joseph ;  Beatty, 
John ;  Bower,  George ;  Cery,  Thomas ;  Clark,  George ;  Cogh, 
Daniel;  Colpetzer,  Adam;  Commer,  Daniel;  Conner,  Jacob;  Con- 
rad, George  ;  Conrad,  Henry ;  Cousins,  William ;  Esterly,  Jacob ; 
Etzweiler,  George;  Ewig,  Philip;  Fought,  Michael;  Foster,  Thomas; 
Fry,  John;  Gill,  William;  Gilman,  Henry;  Green,  Joseph;  Green- 
lee, William ;  Groninger,  Joseph;  Grove,  Wendell;  Hain,  John; 


122  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

Harpster,  Jacob;  Heny,  Stophel;  Hessler,  William;  Hessler,  John; 
Hessler,  Michael ;  Kellahan,  Patrick ;  Keeny,  Jacob ;  Kishler, 
Francis  ;  Kneedler,  Frederick  ;  Kneedler,  Conrad  ;  Lamb,  Michael ; 
Links,  Jacob;  Long,  Jacob;  Long,  William;  Lowdon,  Richard; 
McCashon,  John;  McCelvey,  James;  McClung,  Matthew;  Mc- 
Donneld,  Randal ;  Macklin,  Valentine ;  Miller,  Benjamin;  Moor, 
William;  Morrow,  Andrew;  Nees,  Henry;  Nees,  Peter;  Overmeier, 
George ;  Pontius,  Nicholas  ;  Pontius,  George ;  Rinehart,  Frederick ; 
Rinehart,  George ;  Rith  or  Ritle,  Yost ;  Rote,  Michael ;  Row,  Lud- 
wig ;  Sierer,  George ;  Schneider,  Michael ;  Schock,  John  ;  Schock, 
Michael;  Schock,  George;  Scott,  Robert;  Smith,  Michael;  Speddy, 
William;  Speese,  Jacob;  Stevenson,  James;  Storm,  David;  Thomp- 
son, Robert ;  Ulrich,  George  ;  Weaver,  John  ;  Weaver,  David  ; 
Wenderbach,  Henry ;  Wilson,  Robert ;  Wolfe,  George. 

Captain  Clarke  lived  on  the  first  farm  above  Mififiinburg,  south 
of  the  turnpike;  died  February  22,  1809,  aged  seventy-three; 
buried  in  the  Lewis  graveyard.  Lieutenant  Thomas  Foster,  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Mark  Halfpenny,  died  June  4,  1804;  buried  in 
Lewis  graveyard.  Augustine  was  a  weaver ;  lived  near  Selinsg  rove 
as  late  as  1800.  George  Bower  lived  in  Union  township.  Joseph 
Barnett  became  the  patriarch  of  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania. 
See  a  full  notice  of  him  in  Day's  Historical  Collections.  Honorable 
I.  G.  Gordon,  of  Brookville,  writes  me,  1871,  that  some  of  his 
grandchildren  live  near  that  place.  John  Beatty  lived  near  New 
Berlin.  George  Clark  was  a  prominent  surveyor  in  the  Valley 
until  1800,  and  then  removed  West.  He  lived  in  a  house  near 
Judge  Hummel's,  now  torn  down.  He  was  an  exceedingly  tall  man, 
and  took  delight  in  making  his  axe  marks  as  surveyor  beyond  the 
reach  of  other  men.  He  once  made  a  narrow  escape  from  the 
Indians  by  leaping  Little  Buffalo  creek,  from  the  high  bank,  near 
late  Jacob  Moyer's.  It  was  attributed  to  Brady,  but  Brady's  leap 
was  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  in  Armstrong  county.  Jacob 
Conner  lived  in  Buffalo.  Adam  Colpetzer,  in  West  Buffalo  ;  married 
a  daughter  of  George  Rote,  of  Mifflinburg,  George  Etzweiler  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  in  1780,  at  Heberling's  mill,  then  French 
Jacob  Grochong's.  Michael  Fought,  in  Union,  on  Seebold's  farm, 
near  Chappel  Hollow,  east  of  it.  William  Gill,  in  Penn's.  Wendell 
Grove,  in   Derrstown.     Henry   Gilman,  in  White   Deer.     Joseph 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  123 

Groninger,  in  Kelly,  on  Clingan's  place.  Joseph  Green  near 
Philip  Pontius' ;  he  was  grandfather  of  Joseph  Green,  of  Lewis- 
burg.  Jacob  Harpster,  in  Beaver  township.  John  Hain,  in  Penn's. 
The  Hesslers,  near  Crotzerville.  The  church  there  bears  their  name. 
Christopher  Heny,  on  General  James  Irvine's,  now,  or  lately, 
Kleckner's,  west  of  Mifflinburg.  Patrick  Kellahan,  north-west  of 
Mifflinburg.  Jacob  Keeny,  on  John  Aurand's  place,  Turtle  creek. 
Richard  Lowdon  was  a  brother  of  Captain  John,  and  lived  with 
him.  Andrew  Morrow  was  a  tenant  on  Samuel  Maclay's  place. 
Benjamin  Miller,  afterwards  owned  James  Biehl's  place,  Matthew 
McClung,  late  George  Gundy's  heirs,  near  Turtle  creek.  Randal 
McDonneld,  on  S.  Maclay's,  just  north  of  the  Great  Western,  now 
Mrs.  Shoemaker's.  Peter  Nees  died  of  wounds  received  February 
I,  1777.  George  Overmeier  lived  near  Seebold's,  in  Limestone. 
Nicholas  Pontius  was  the  father  of  the  late  J.  F.  Pontius.  George 
was  his  brother,  sons  of  John,  who  owned  the  Captain  Bucher  tract, 
Avhere  his  descendants  still  reside,  or  a  few  of  them,  as  the  name  is 
legion  now.  David  Storm,  where  B.  Lahr  lives,  on  Esquire  Came- 
ron's farm.  Robert  Scott,  on  Barber's  place.  White  Springs.  Jacob 
Speese  lived,  within  our  memory,  in  White  Deer.  William  Speddy, 
see  1772.  The  Schock's,  about  Mifflinburg.  Michael  Smith,  in 
East  Buffalo,  above  Henry  Mertz's.  George  Wolfe  was  the  grand- 
father of  Jonathan,  of  Lewisburg. 

Colonel  William  Cooke's  regiment  was  directed  to  be  raised  in  the 
counties  of  Northampton  and  Northumberland.  Among  the  last 
acts  of  the  convention,  on  the  28th  of  September,  was  the  election  of 
field  officers  of  this  regiment.  Foui*  companies,  Miller's,  Boone's, 
Brady's,  and  Harris',  were  from  Northumberland  county.  These 
companies  were  nearly  full  on  the  nth  of  December,  and  left  Sun- 
bury  about  a  week  thereafter,  as  Marcus  Huling  claimed  for  loss  of 
a  boat  in  taking  them  down  the  river  at  that  time. 

The  regiment  went  immediately  into  active  service.  Being  com- 
posed mainly  of  good  riflemen,  large  drafts  were  made  upon  it  for 
picket  and  skirmish  duty.  A  portion,  under  Boone,  was  sent  into 
the  northern  army,  and  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  At 
Brandywine  the  regiment  lost  heavily  in  officers  and  men,  and  at 
Germantown  ;  so  that,  after  wintering  at  Valley  Forge,  the  field  offi- 
cers were  mustered  out,  the  supernumerary  line  officers  discharged, 


124  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1776. 

and  what  remained  of  ofificers  and  companies  distributed  into  the 
third  and  sixth  regiments. 

Roster  of  Colonel  William  Cooke'' s  Twelfth  Pennsylvania  Regiment 
of  the  Continental  Line. , 

Colonel — Cooke,  William,  of  Northumberland,  commissioned  Oc- 
tober 2,  1776. 

Lieutenant  Colonel — Gray,  Neigal,  of  Northampton  county.  He 
moved  to  Buffalo  Valley  after  the  war. 

Major — Crawford,  James,  commissioned  October  8,  1776.  After- 
wards justice  of  the  peace  in  Lycoming  county,  where  he  died. 

Adjutant — Hanson,  Thomas. 

Paymasters — Levers,  Robert;  Dungan,  Thomas;  appointed  .\pril 
29,  1777. 

Quartermaster — Vaughan,  George. 

Surgeon — Ledlie,  Doctor  Andrew,  of  Easton. 

Surgeon's  Mate — Woodruff,  Aaron. 

Captains — Withington,  Peter,  commissioned  October  i,  1776; 
took  sick,  in  Philadelphia,  in  December,  1776;  sent  home,  to 
Reading,  where  he  died  May  11,  1777;  his  widow,  Eve,  survived 
him  over  fifty  years,  and  died  in  Mifflinburg ;  Miller,  Nicholas, 
appointed  October  4,  1776,  from  Northumberland  county  ;  died,  in 
1 79-,  in  Northampton  county ;  Boone,  Hawkins,  appointed  October 
4,  1776;  killed,  at  Fort  Freeland,  July  28,  1779;  Brady,  John, 
appointed  October  14,  1776;  killed,  by  the  Indians,  April  11, 
1779;  Harris,  John,  appointed  October  14,  1776;  McKinley, 
Reverend  Henry,  of  Carlisle'  appointed  October  16,  1776;  Pat- 
terson, Alexander,  of  Northampton  county;  Work,  William,  ap- 
pointed October  16,  1776. 

Lieutenants — Brandon,  Thomas,  appointed  October  4,  1776; 
Lincoln,  Hananiah,  appointed  October  4,  1776;  he  was  a  sergeant 
in  Captain  George  Nagel's  company.  Colonel  William  Thompson's 
regiment,  1775-1776;  resigned,  after  battle  of  Brandywine,  and 
went  to  Daniel  Boone's  settlement,  in  Kentucky  ;  he  followed  Boone 
to  Missouri,  where  he  died  ;  Gettig,  Christopher,  appointed  Octol)er 
14,  1776,  from  Sunbury;  wounded  at  Piscataway,  New  Jersey,  May 
II,  1777  ;  taken  prisoner,  and  had  his  leg  amputated;  justice 'of  the 
peace  many  years  afterward  at  Sunbury ;  his  descendants  reside  near 


1776.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jsj 


Bellefonte;  Reily,  John,  appointed  October  i6,  1776;  promoted 
Captain,  May  20,  1777;  mustered  out  of  service  November  3,  1 783  ; 
Ciiambers,  Stephen,  Esquire,  appointed  October  16,  1776;  promoted 
captain;  one  of  tlie  council  of  censors,  in  1783;  Delegate  to  the 
Federal  Convention,  December  12,  1787;  wounded  in  a  duel  with 
Doctor  Jacob  Rieger,  on  Monday,  nth  May,  1789;  died  on  Satur- 
day, 1 6th,  at  his  house,  in  Lancaster;  McElhatton,  William, 
appointed  October  16,  1776  ;  wounded,  atBonhamtown,  New  Jersey, 
in  right  shoulder  ;  disabled,  and  transferred  to  the  invalid  corps  July 
I,  1779;  died  April  26,  1807;  Henderson,  John,  appointed  Oc- 
tober 16,  1776;  Sayre,  William,  appointed  October  16,  1776. 

Second  Lieutenants — King,  Robert,  October  4,  1776;  promoted 
lieutenant,  third  Pennsylvania,  May  20,  1777;  left  out  of  service 
June  23,  1779;  Williamson,  James,  October  4,  1776;  McCabe, 
Edward,  October  16,  1776;  Hays,  John,  October  16,  1776; 
Quinn,  Samuel,  October  16,  1776  ;  Boyd,  John,  of  Northumberland, 
promoted  lieutenant  in  third  Pennsylvania,  June  18,  1779;  died 
February  13,  1832;  Bard,  William,  October  i,  1776;  Carothers, 
John,  October  16,  1776;  killed,  at  Germantown,  October  4,  1777; 
Falconer,  Robert.  ' 

Ensigns — Lodge,  Benjamin,  junior,  October  16,  1776  ;  promoted 
lieutenant  sixth  Pennsylvania,  October  11,  1777;  Hamilton, 
Thomas,  October  16,  1776;  Blackall,  William  Ball,  October  16, 
1776;  promoted  lieutenant  third  Pennsylvania,  nth  September, 
1778  ;  mustered  out  November  3,  1783  ;  Boyd,  William,  appointed 
October  16,  1776;  killed  at  Brandywine,  September  11,  1777; 
Stone,  John,  October  16,  1776;  resigned  January  8,  1777;  died 
March,  1792;  Herbert,  Stewart,  October  16,  1776;  promoted 
lieutenant  sixth  Pennsylvania,  January  9,  1778;  Engle,  Andrew, 
October  16,  1776;  promoted  lieutenant  of  third  Pennsylvania, 
December  20,  1778;  retired  January  1,  1781;  Strieker,  Henry, 
October  16,  1776;  Seeley,  John,  February  3,  1777;  Armstrong, 
John,  formerly  sergeant;  served  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and 
promoted  lieutenant  in  Captain  James  Moore's  corps. 

Philadelphia,  December,  1776. 
I  am  commanded  by  the  House  to  request  your  attendance  in  this 
city,  in  order  to  take  your  seat  in  Council,  that  we  may  immediately 


126  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1777. 

carry  all  the  powers  of  government  into  execution.  As  this  must 
appear  absolutely  necessary  to  every  good  man,  we  can  have  no 
doubt,  from  your  general  character,  but  you  are  so  well  disposed  to 
the  public,  and  so  desirous  of  order  and  good  government,  that  you 
will  not  neglect  to  take  your  seat  in  that  important  body.  Com- 
pliance will  much  oblige  the  State  in  general,  and  in  particular  thy 
real,  though  unknown,  friend. 

John  Jacobs,  Speaker. 

John  Lowuon,  Esquire,  Northumberland  county. 

24th  December,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  a  company  out  of  his 
battalion  had  volunteered ;  chosen  Major  John  Lee,  captain  ;  Hugh 
White,  first  lieutenant ;  Thomas  Gaskins,  second  lieutenant,  and 
marched  that  day ;  and  he  had  impressed  guns  and  blankets  for  them, 
and  had  them  appraised. 


!>(>(>( 


Officials — Minutes  of  the  Coaimittee  of  Safety,  Continued — Major 
Kelly  at  Princeton — Roll  of  Captain  B.  Weisers  Company — 
Matthew  Brown — Paoli — General  Potter's  Letters. 

HOMAS  WHARTON,  President  of  the  State.  John 
Lowdon  member  of  Council  until  October,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Captain  John  Hambright,  of  Turbut 
township.  Members  of  Assembly  elected  in  October : 
Samuel  Dale,  Robert  Fruit,  James  Murray,  William  Irwin,  Simon 
Himrod,  and  Robert  Fleming. 

On  the  9th  of  June  the  following  justices  were  appointed  under 
the  new  constitution :  Samuel  Hunter,  Thomas  Hewitt,  Robert 
Crawford,  John  Weitzel,  Robert  Martin,  Michael  Troy,  Samuel 
Allen,  John  Aurand,  William  Shaw,  and  John  Livingston.  William 
Maclay,  Prothonotary  until  September  1 1 ,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
David  Harris ;  Jonathan  Lodge,  Sheriff,  elected  in  October  ;  John 


1777. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  127 

Simpson,  the  first  Register  and  Recorder  of  the  county,  appointed 
March  14. 

March  21,  Samuel  Hunter  appointed  Heutenant,  and  Walter  Clark, 
William  Murray,  George  Wolfe,  and  William  Wilson,  sub-lieuten- 
ants of  Northumberland  county. 

Constable  of  Buffalo  :  Martin  Trester ;  White  Deer,  Henry  Derr. 

Elias  Younkman's  name  appears  on  the  grand  jury.  He  resided 
in  Turbut  before  moving  into  Buffalo,  in  1783. 

Minutes  of  the  Committee  of  Safety— Continued. 

January  1st,  1777. 
The  complaint  of  Peter  Smith  against  Robert  Robb. 
To  THE  Honorable  Committee  of  Northumberland  County  : 

That  on  the  20th  of  last  month,  at  the  house  of  Captain  John 
Brady,  said  Robb  did  violently  beat  and  very  much  abuse  said  Smith, 
and  further  produceth  James  Brady  and  Jean  Kennan  as  evidence 
of  said  charge,  and  also  Patrick  Murdock  as  evidence  afterwards  to 
the  wounds  alleged  to  be  received  by  said  Smith  from  said  Robb. 

his 

Peter  X  Smith. 

mark. 

The  above  named  Peter  Smith  maketh  oath  that  he  received  the 
above-mentioned  abuse,  by  the  above-named  Robert  Robb,  at  the 
time  and  place  above-mentioned,  and  that  he,  this  deponent^  has 
not  been  able,  ever  since  receiving  the  above-mentioned  abuse,  to 
follow  his  usual  vocation,  as  formerly. 

his 

Peter  X  Smith. 

mark. 

James   Brady's   Evidence  between  Peter  Smith,  complainant,  and 
Robert  Robb,  defendant. 

This  deponent  saith,  that  on  Friday,  the  20th  day  of  December 
last,  Robert  Robb  did,  at  the  house  of  this  deponent's  father,  and 
in  his  presence,  violently  beat  and  abuse  the  above-said  Smith,  and 
continued  so  to  do  until  he,  this  deponent,  rescued  him  out  of 
his  hands.     This  deponent  further  saith,  that  Robert  Robb  said  he 


128  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  ■  [1777. 

believed  the  committee  got  very  li*^tle  satisfaction  of  him,  and  that 
they  were  a  set  of  rascals,  some  of  them  were  robbers,  some  were 
horse-thieves,  and  some  of  them  were  murderers. 
And  further  saith  not. 

James  Brady, 

Jean  Cannon's  Evidence. 

This  deponent  saith,  that  she  saw  Peter  Smith  immediately  after 
difference  with  Robert  Robb,  and  that  said  Smith  seemed  to  her 
to  have  been  very  much  abused-  as  she  understood,  by  said  Robert 
Robb.  This  deponent  further  saith,  that  said  Robb  said  the  com- 
mittee was'  a  set  of  rascals,  some  of  them  were  horse-thieves,  some 
robbers,  and  some  of  them  were  murderers. 

And  further  saith  not. 

her 

Jean  X  Cannon. 

mark. 

January  ^th,  1777. 
Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  until  the  1 4th  day  of 
this  instant,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  George  McCandlish. 

January  14. 

The  committee  met,  by  adjournment,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  George 
McCandlish,  and  proceeded  to  hear  the  evidence  of  James  Patton, 
in  behalf  of  Robert  Robb. 

James  Patton,  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and  said,  that  he,  this 
deponent,  with  Peter  Smith  and  some  others,  were  drinking  together 
at  the  house  of  Captain  John  Brady,  when  said  Smith  asked  Mr. 
Robb  what  news.  Mr.  Robb  answered  that  he  desired  none  of  his 
discourse,  and  asked  James  Brady  if  there  was  any  fire  in  the  new 
house.  Brady  said  there  was.  Mr.  Robb  then  got  up  and .  asked 
this  deponent  if  he  would  go  into  the  said  house  and  drink  share  of 
half  a  pint.  This  deponent  said  he  would.  After  sitting  down, 
the  aforesaid  Smith  came  in.  Says  Mr.  Robb,  you  have  followed 
me  here  again,  Peter.  Mr.  Robb  further  said,  if  you  choose  to  sit 
here,  I  will  go  into  the  other  house,  and  if  you  follow  me,  I  will 
flog  you,  or  turn  you  out.  Mr.  Robb  then  got  up,  and  asked  this 
deponent  to  go  with  him  to  the  other  house.     This  deponent  further 


1777.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  i2q 

saith,  that  Mr.  Robb  said  that  once  in  his  day  he  never  thought  to 
be  tried  by  such  men  as  some  of  the  committee.     Some  of  tliem 
had  been  tried  for  murder  and  some  for  horse  steaHng. 
And  further  saith  not. 

James  Patton. 

Whereas,  A  certain  Robert  Robb  was  brought  before  the  com- 
mittee of  this  county,  on  account  of  sundry  charges  proven  against 
him,  and  a  resolve  of  this  committee  entered  thereon,  bearing  date 
December  17th,  1776,  by  virtue  whereof  he  was  committed  to  the 
custody  of  Colonel  James  Murray,  to  be  by  him  sent  to  some  proper 
place  of  confinement  until  released  by  a  superior  authority : 

And  whereas,  The  said  Colonel  Murray,  out  of  lenity  to  said 
Robb's  family,  saw  fit  to  appoint  the  mansion-house  of  the  said 
Robb  as  a  prison  for  him,  on  a  promise  of  his  good  behavior  for 
the  future,  but  as  said  Robb  hath  since  (as  appears  by  sufficient  tes- 
timony given  before  this  committee)  very  ungratefully  abused  the 
lenity  shown  him  by  said  Colonel  Murray,  by  barbarously  beating 
and  much  abusing  a  certain  Peter  Smith,  of  this  county,  so  as  to 
render  him  unable,  for  a  considerable  time,  to  support  himself  and 
his  small  family  by  his  industry,  as  usual,  as  appears  by  the  testi- 
mony of  said  Smith,  and  other  evidences  produced  before  this  com- 
mittee : 

And  whereas.  He  did,  at  the  same  time,  not  only  despise  all 
authority  of  this  committee,  but  also  charge  them  with  horse  steal- 
ing, robbery,  and  murder,  as  appears  by  the  testimony  of  said 
evidences  :   therefore. 

Resolved,  Notified  to  take,  or  order  to  be  taken,  the  aforesaid 

Robert  Robb  before  the  Council  of  Safety,  of  this  State,  to  whom ' 

he  hath  appealed,  in  order  to  answer  the  several  charges  proven 

against  him  before  this  commit! ee,  which  we  have  inclosed  in  a 

letter  directed  to  the  said  Council  of  Safety,  which  you  are  desired 

to  deliver  with  said  prisoner. 

Signed  by  order  of  committee. 

Paul  Geddis,  Chairman. 

January  15,  1777. 
Resolved,  That  notice  be  sent  to  Captain  Murray,  requesting  his 
attendance  to-morrow  morning,  which  was  accordingly  sent  by  Mr. 
Johnson. 
9 


I  JO  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1777. 

January  i6. 
Upon  Captain  Murray's  not  appearing  according  to  notice, 
Resolved,  That  Thomas  Combs  be  hired  and  sent  with  a  second 

notice  to  Captain  Murray,  requesting  his  attendance  immediately. 
Upon  Captain  Murray's  non-appearance  upon  second  notice. 
Resolved,  That  the  aforesaid  Thomas  Combs  be  again  sent  with 

a  third  notice  to  Captain  Murray,  and  paid  five  shiUings  for  his 

trouble. 

January  17. 

Thomas  Combs  returned  from  Captain  Murray's,  and  brought  a 
letter  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

January  17,  1777. 
Gentlemen  :  I  sent  you  word  by  Mr.  McKnight  and  Mr.  John- 
son that  I   would  not  act  any  longer  as  an  officer ;  and  since  you 
wont  take  my  word,  I  now  send  you  my  commission,  and  I  hope 
you  will  believe  me  now. 

WiLLiAiM  Murray. 
To  the  committee. 

Upon  Captain  Murray's  non-compliance  with  the  resolve  of  this 
committee, 

Resolved,  That  Simon  Himrod  and  Buchanan  Smith  be  ap- 
pointed to  conduct  Robert  Robb  to  the  Council  of  Safety  of  this 
State,  and  that  they  be  paid  two  pounds  five  shillings  for  their 
trouble. 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  one  pound  ten  shillings  be  paid  to 
Captain  John  Hambright,  for  this  book  found  by  him.  for  the  use  of 
this  committee. 

Resolved,  That  Mordecai  McKinney  be  paid  by  the  chairman 
one  pound  two  shillings  and  six  pence,  out  of  the  l)alance  received 
by  Mr.  Clay,  on  account  of  expresses  to  the  different  officers  of 
Colonel  Murray's  battalion. 

Jol)  loUoway  applied  to  this  committee  for  a  letter  to  Thomas 
Ferguson,  to  go  with  him  to  the  Six  Nations. 

Resolved,  That  a  letter  be  sent  accordingly. 


1777. 1 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


131 


Northumberland,  February  13,  1777. 
The  following  gentlemen  being  unanimously  chosen  by  their  re- 
spective townships  to  serve  in  the  committee  of  this  county  for  the 
ensuing  six  months,  met  at  the  house  of  Laughlan  McCartney,  in 
Northumberland,  and  gave  in  the  following  returns  of  their  election, 
viz : 


Augusta  township. 


Potter's  toivnship. 
John  Livingstone, 
John  McMillan. 

Turbutt  township. 
Thomas  Jordan, 
John  Nelson, 
Josiah  Espy. 

Buffalo  Township. 
John  Aurand, 
Thomas  Sutherland, 
George  Overmire. 

Bald  Eagle  township. 
John  Fleming, 
James  Hughs, 
John  Walker. 


Mochonoy  township. 
George  Yeakle, 
Henry  Zartman, 
Henry  Krebs. 

Penn's  township. 
Andrew  Moore, 
David  Miller, 
Jacob  Hosterman. 

White  Deer  township. 
William  Blyth, 
James  McCormick, 
William  Reed, 

Muncy  township. 
John  Coates, 
James  Hampton, 
William  Hammond. 

Mahoning  township. 


Wyoming  township. 

James  McClure, 
Peter  Milleck, 
John  Clingman. 

The  committee,  according  to  order,  proceeded  to  elect  their 
chairman  and  clerk,  when  Thomas  Jordan  was  unanimously  chosen 
chairman,  and  John  Coates,  clerk.  , 


tj2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1777. 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  till  Tuesday,  the 
nth  day  of  March  next,  when  they  are  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
George  McCandlish ;  and  as  sundry  of  the  townships  have  neglected 
to  send  out  their  members  at  this  meeting,  the  committee  have 
ordered  the  chairman  to  give  notice  to  the  said  townships  by  public 
advertisement  to  attend  at  next  meeting. 

March  wth,  1777. 

The  committee  met  according  to  adjournment,  Mr.  Thomas  Jor- 
dan in  the  chair. 

Upon  complaints  being  made  by  a  certain  All  is  Read,  of  Wyom- 
ing township,  that  he,  the  said  Read,  had  a  horse  strayed  or  stolen 
from  him  some  time  ago,  and  was  found  in  the  custody  of  a  certain 
John  Drake,  when  said  Read  replevied  the  horse  and  got  him  and 
kept  him  in  his  possession  for  about  six  months,  and  then  the  widow 
of  said  Drake  came  and  took  him  forcibly  out  of  said  Read's  stable, 
he  not  being  at  home  himself,  and  now  keeps  the  horse,  and  abso- 
lutely refuses  to  give  him  up  again  to  the  said  Read. 

Resolved,    That  Messrs.  James  McClure,  Peter  Milleck,  and  John 
Clingman,  with  the  assistance  of  the  committee  of  Wyoming  town- 
ship be  a  joint  committee  to  meet  at  the  house  of  James  McClure,  in; 
said  township,  on  Saturday,  the  2 2d  day  of  this  instant,  March,  toj 
hear  the  complaint  and  defense  of  both  parties  concerning  the  said 
horse,  and  that  the  chairman  of  this  committee  issue  summons  for 
the  evidences  of  the  complainer  to  attend  at  said  meeting,  which 
summons  are  to  be  served  by  the  complainer  himself,  as  also  a  sum- : 
mons  for  the  said  Widow  Drake  to  attend  with  the  horse  and  her  \ 
evidences  or  reasons,  if  any  she  have,  why  the  complainer  should 
not  have  his  horse  upon  proper  proofs  being  made  of  his  being  his' 
property,  and  the  aforesaid  persons  .are  hereby  authorized  to  judge! 
and  determine  betwixt  both  parties,  and  upon  proper  proofs  being ! 
made,  give  their  final  judgment  in  the  matter. 

A  certain  Captain  Jacob  Links,  of  Buffalo  township,  appealed  toj 
this  committee  in  consequence  of  a  resolve  of  the  committee  of  said] 
township,  a  copy  of  which  is  as  follows,  viz  : 

''Resolved,  That  Jacob  Links  does  return  several  sums  of  money, 
which  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  township  did  deliver  to 
him  for  the  use  of  purchasing  salt,  he,  said  Links,  acknowledging  he 


I 


1777.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jjj 

could  have  had  salt,  but  it  being  troublesome  times,  he  was  afraid 
he  should  suffer  loss  if  he  would  purchase  the  salt,  and  a  certain 
evidence  did  declare  that  he  said  he  was  going  on  his  own  business 
to  Philadelphia,  and  he,  said  Links,  did  not  bring  salt. 

December  21,  1776,  by  the  committee  of  Buffalo  township. 

(Signed,)  Will.  Irwin,  Chainnan.'' 

In  consequence  of  said  appeal,  Mr.  Links  was  called  in  before 
this  committee  and  asked  if  he  had  evidence  to  produce.  He  said 
he  had,  but  that  he  had  them  not  then  ready. 

Resolced,  That  Mr.  Links  appeal  be  referred  till  the  next  meet- 
ing of  committee,  and  that  his  evidence  be  summoned  to  attend. 

Whereas,  Colonel  or  Captain  Benjamin  Weiser  has  made  com- 
plaint to  this  committee  that  a  number  of  parsons  who  had  been  out 
under  his  command  in  the  militia  of  this  county,  in  order  to  join 
the  continental  army,  in  New  Jersey,  and  that  the  said  persons  were 
deserted  from  him  and  returned  home  to  this  county,  as  the  same  is 
more  fully  expressed  in  a  letter  to  this  committee,  bearing  date 
,  craving  their  assistance. 

Resolved,  That  a  day  of  muster  be  assigned  for  the  said  persons  to 
meet  and  march  off  to  camp,  and  serve  out  their  time,  allowing  them 
to  elect  new  officers,  if  they  had  any  objections  to  the  old  ones,  cer- 
tifying them  also,  that  if  they  neglect  to  obey  this  resolve,  they  are 
to  be  taken  up  and  committed  as  deserters. 

Whereas,  This  committee  have  received  a  letter  from  the  com- 
mittee of  the  township  of  Bald  Eagle,  together  with  a  resolve  of 
their  committee  anent  the  selling  of  grain,  &c.,  in  their  township, 
craving  advice  before  they  should  carry  their  resolve  into  execution, 
of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  :  , 

February  26th,  1776.  We,  the  committee  of  the  township  of  Bald 
Eagle  met,  and  as  a  complaint  was  made  to  us  by  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants  that  there  is  a  quantity  of  rye  that  is  going  to  be  carried 
out  of  the  township,  for  stilling,  and  that  there  are  some  of  the  in- 
habitants, which  have  not  sold  their  grain  as  yet,  nor  will  not  sell 
without  they  get  eighteen  pence  or  two  shillings  per  bushel  above 
the  highest  market  price  that  grain  is  giving  in  the  county,  but  will 
keep  it  up  and  carry  it  off;  and  as  it  appears  to  us  that  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  will  suffer  if  such  a  practice  is 
allowed  to  go  on ;    therefore,  we 


134  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1777. 

Reso/ce,  That  no  stiller  in  this  township  shall  buy  any  more 
grain  this  season  for  to  still,  or  still  any  more  than  what  he  hath 
already  by  him.  And  further,  we  resolve,  that  no  grain  be  carried 
out  of  this  township  till  the  necessity  of  the  poor  is  supplied,  or  till 
the  first  day  of  May  next ;  and  any  person  having  grain  of  any  kind 
to  dispose  of,  and  will  not  take  the  market  price  at  Sunbury,  reduct- 
ing  a  reasonable  carriage  or  the  highest  price  that  it  will  be  there 
when  the  grain  is  wanted,  we  allow  to  seize  on  it  and  take  it  by 
force,  and  pay  them  their  money.  Given  under  our  hands  the  day 
and  year  above  mentioned. 

(Signed,)  John  Dickson, 

Robert  Love, 
James  Erwin. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  of  Bald  Eagle  is  the  most  compe- 
tent judges  of  the  circumstances  of  the  people  in  that  township ; 
that,  therefore,  the  affair  be  referred  back  to  them  to  act  as  they  shall 
see  just  cause,  but,  in  the  meantime,  that  they  be  cautioned  against 
using  too  much  rigor  in  their  measures,  and  that  they  keep  by  mod- 
eration as  much  as  possible,  and  study  a  sort  of  medium  between 
seizing  of  property  and  supplying  the  wants  of  the  poor. 

Whereas,  Report  has  been  made  to  this  committee  of  a  certain 
Henry  Sterratt  profaning  the  Sabbath  in  an  unchristian  and  scan- 
dalous manner,  causing  his  servants  to  maul  rails,  &c.,  on  that  day, 
and  beating  and  abusing  them  if  they  offered  to  disobey  such  his 
unlawful  commands. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  of  Bald  Eagle  township,  where  he 
now  resides,  be  recommended  to  suppress  such  like  practices  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power. 

Resolved,  That  th'is  committee  be  adjourned  till  Tuesday,  the 
15th  of  Aj^ril  next,  when  it  is  again  to  meet  at  the  house  of  George 
McCandlish. 

April  i^th,  1777. 

The  committee  met  according  to  adjournment,  Mr.  Thomas  Jor- 
dan in  the  chair. 

Whereas,  A  certain  Jacob  Dreisbach  having  disobeyed  a  sum- 
mons issued  by  this  committee  at  their  last  sitting,  for  him  to  have 
compeared  at  this  meeting  of  committee  as  evidence  in  the  affair  of 
Jacob  Links, 


1777.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  rjs 

Resolved,  That  a  special  warrant  be  now  granted  for  l)ringing 
him  before  this  committee  to-morrow,  at  nine  o'clock. 

April  i']th. 

Jacob  Dreisbach  was  brought  before  the  committee,  and  l)eing 
duly  sworn,  he  saith  that  he  asked  Captain  Links  if  he  was  the  man 
that  was  to  go  to  Philadelphia  for  salt,  and  the  said  Links  answered 
that  he  was,  and  said  that  he  had  a  sister  in  Philadelphia,  and  wanted 
to  see  her,  and  said  it  would  suit  him  better  to  go  than  another  who 
had  no  errand  of  their  own  ;  but  says,  for  his  own  part,  he  was  will- 
ing to  allow  Captain  Links  whatever  came  to  his  share  of  the  ex- 
penses, at  the  same  rate  that  the  rest  of  his  employers  allowed  him, 
and  further  saith  not. 

Jacob  Dreisbach. 

Mr.  George  Overmire,  a  member  of  this  committee,  declareth 
that  he  was  present  when  Captain  Links  agreed  with  his  employers, 
and  says  that  he  was  to  have  his  expenses  allowed  him,  whether  he 
got  salt  or  not. 

Captain  Links  compeared  and  produced  his  account  for  traveling 
expenses,  which  amounted  to  ^5  15,  acknowledging  the  leceipt  of 
^39  from  his  employers,  part  of  which  he  had  yet  in  his  hands, 
and  says  he  could  have  got  salt,  but  it  being  salt  that  had  been 
already  purchased  or  allotted  for  the  use  of  this  county,  and  was  to 
be  distributed  over  the  county  at  large,  it  was  not  answering  his 
purpose  to  bring  it,  and  there  was  no  other  salt  he  could  get  to 
purchase. 

Resolved,  That  Captain  Links  be  authorized  to  keep  the  sum  of 
two  shiUings  and  eleven  pence  half  penny  out  of  every  pound  of  his 
employer's  money  for  payment  of  his  expenses,  as  his  account  ap- 
pears to  this  committee  to  be  very  moderate. 

Whereas,  A  certain  William  Read,  of  Bald  Eagle  townshij),  has 
been  taken  into  custody  and  carried  before  this  committee  to  an- 
swer for  his  conduct  in  refusing  to  associate  and  bear  arms  in  behalf 
of  the  States ;  and  being  asked  his  reasons  for  so  refusing,  his  an- 
swers were  as  follows,  viz  : 

That  he  was  once  concerned  in  a  riot  tliat  happened  in  Ireland, 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Hearts'  of  Steel,  and  was 
taken  prisoner,  tried,  and  acquitted,  upon  his  taking  an  oath  of 


ij6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  Yin. 

allegiance  to  the  King,  and  coming  [under]  solemn  obligations 
never  to  lift  arms  against  him  for  the  future ;  he,  therefore,  looked 
upon  it  as  a  breach  of  his  oath  to  muster  or  bear  arms  in  behalf  of 
the  States,  as  the  arms  of  the  States  were  now  employed  against  the 
King  to  whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance. 

Being  further  asked  if  he  had  any  objections  to  the  cause  the 
United  States  were  now  engaged  in,  he  said  he  had  not  any,  and 
would  be  as  forward  and  willing  as  any  to  join  in  it,  could  he  do  it 
without  breach  of  his  oath.  Being  asked  if  he  would  take  an  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  he  said  he  would  if  it  did  not 
oblige  him  to  take  up  arms. 

Accordingly  an  oath  was  tendered  to  him,  and  he  swore  as 
follows  : 

I  do  swear  to  be  true  to  the  United  States  of  America,  and  do 
renounce  and  disclaim  all  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  promise  that  I  will  not,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  speak  or  act 
any  thing  in  prejudice  to  the  cause  or  safety  of  the  States,  or  lift 
arms  against  them,  or  be  any  way  assistant  to  their  declared  enemies 
in  any  case  whatsoever. 

William  Read. 

Whereupon,  the  committee  resolved  to  dismiss  him,  upon  his  pay- 
ing the  sum  of  seventeen  shillings  and  one  penny  half  penny,  being 
the  costs  of  bringing  him  before  the  committee. 

In  consequence  of  sundry  accounts,  from  different  parts  of  the 
comity,  of  a  dangerous  plot  being  on  foot  by  some  of  our  enemies 
to  bring  on  an  Indian  war,  and  in  particular  by  an  intercepted  letter, 
wrote  by  a  certain  Nicholas  Pickard,  directed  to  a  certain  John 
Pickard,  at  the  house  of  Caspar  Read,  in  Penn's  township,  with  all 
speed,  a  copy  of  which  was  transmitted  to  us  by  Nathaniel  Landon, 
of  Wyoming,  and  is  now  before  this  committee,  and  is  as  follows : 

WvoMiNG,  March  ith,  1777. 

Worthy  Friend  :  I  cannot  omit  but  write  you  a  few  lines,  that  I 
am  in  a  good  state  of  health,  and,  further,  I  let  you  know  that,  as 
soon  as  the  river  is  clear  of  ice,  we  shall  march  from  every  part ; 
therefore,  I  would  advise  you,  as  a  friend,  to  go  out  of  the  way,  for 
we  then,  as  soon  as  the  river  is  clear  of  ice,  intend  to  cut  all  off; 
therefore,  I  think  it  is  better  for  you  to  go  out  of  the  way  with  the 
rest,  for  against  May  it  will  go  as  you  heard  it  should  go.     Perhaps 


1777.]-  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  /J7 

against  Easter  I  will  be  with  you  ;  then  I  shall  tell  you  further,  and 
give  you  a  better  account  of  it.  No  more  at  present,  but  I  remain 
your  trusty  friend.  Give  my  compliments  to  them  all  a  thousand 
times ;  tell  them  all  that  I  intend  to  see  them  soon.  I  have  wrote 
to  you  as  much  as  I  durst. 

(Signed.)  Nicholas  Pickard. 

In  consequence  of  which  letter,  Colonel  James  Murray  and  Cap- 
tain James  Espy  were  sent  out,  by  order  of  this  committee,  in  search 
of  the  said  Nicholas  and  John  Pickard. 

April  I  ']th. 

Captain  Espy  returned,  and  brought  the  body  of  John  Pickard 
before  this  committee ;  and  being  legally  sworn,  upon  the  Holy 
Evangelist  of  Almighty  God, 

He  saith,  that  he  went  up  the  river,  some  time  about  last  Christ- 
mas, from  Middletown  to  Wyoming,  in  a  boat,  and  at  Wyoming  he 
met  with  the  aforesaid  Nicholas  Pickard,  his  own  cousin,  and  that 
they  two  went  by  land  about  twenty  miles  further  up  the  river,  to  a 
place  called  Tankhannock,  to  see  some  friends,  and  being  in  the 
house  of  a  certain  Nicholas  Philhps,  he,  the  said  Phillips,  told  his 
cousin  and  him  that  the  Indians  had  told  him  they  would  come 
down,  and  cut  off  all  against  this  spring,  or  as  soon  as  they  got  their 
orders ;  and  that  they  would  in  particular  strike  upon  the  Mohawk 
river  and  the  waters  of  the  Susquehannough ;  and  that  when  he 
parted  with  the  said  Nicholas,  at  that  time,  he  promised  to  write  to 
the  deponent  as  soon  as  he  thought  there  was  immediate  danger,  so 
that  he  might  go  out  of  the  way  ;  withal  telling  him  that  the  Indians 
did  not  want  to  kill  any  that  did  not  take  up  arms  against  them,  so 
that  if  he  would  go  out  of  the  way,  or  lie  still  on  one  side,  there 
would  be  no  danger  of  him.  And  further  told  him,  about  a  fortnight 
ago,  that  there  were  five  hundred  Indians  at  Shamung,  waiting  for  their 
orders  from  Niagara.  Likewise,  that  he,  the  deponent,  asked  the 
said  Nicholas  what  his  reason  was  for  coming  down  to  Caspar  Read's 
at  that  time,  (being  about  a  fortnight  ago,)  and  he  told  him  that  the 
Yankees  were  going  to  apprehend  him  for  a  Tory,  and  that  a  certain 
Dennis  Clark  came  to  him  about  midnight,  and  gave  him  notice  of 
it,  and  accordingly  he  made  his  escape  down  the  river  to  Caspar 
Read's,  or  that  neighborhood.     And  he  has  told  the  deponent,  that 


ijS  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  .[1777. 

he  has  wrote  him  two  letters,  one  of  which  was  sent  by  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Clark,  which  the  deponent  thinks  is  the  same  Clark  that 
gave  him  notice  to  go  off;  and  that  Clark  took  sick  upon  the  way, 
and  when  he  could  not  proceed  forward  with  the  letter,  by  reason 
of  his  illness,  he  threw  the  letter  in  the  fire  and  burnt  it  \  and  that 
the  contents  of  the  letter  was,  that  the  Indians  were  coming  down, 
and  for  the  deponent  to  go  out  of  the  way,  and  further  saith  not. 

John  Pickard. 
An  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  being  proposed  to  John 
Pickard,  and  bail  for  his  good  behavior,  he  complied  with  both,  and 
produced  Caspar  Read  as  his  bail,  who  bound  himself  in  a  bond  of 
an  hundred  pounds  for  the  good  and  orderly  behavior  of  John  Pick- 
ard, for  a  year  and  a  day  next  to  come  after  this  date.  Then  the 
oath  of  allegiance  was  tendered  to  him,  and  he  swore  as  follows  : 

I  do  swear  to  be  true  to  the  United  States  of  America,  and  do 
renounce  and  disclaim  all  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  promise  that  I  will  not,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  speak  or  act 
anything  in  prejudice  to  the  cause  or  safety  of  the  States,  or  lift  arms 
against  them,  or  be  any  way  assistant  to  their  declared  enemies,  in 
any  case  whatsover.     So  help  me  God. 

John  Pickard. 

Upon  the  satisfaction  given  to  the  committee  by  the  said  John 
Pickard,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  he  be  dismissed. 

April  i-jih. 

Colonel  Murray  returned,  and  brought  the  body  of  Nicholas  Pick- 
ard before  this  committee,  and  being  [questioned]  anent  the  aforesaid 
letter,  confesseth  that  he  wrote  it,  and  a  copy  of  the  letter  being 
read  unto  him,  he  ackowledged  the  same  in  every  particular ;  and 
further  confesseth,  that  he  is  in  connection  with  the  ministerial 
troops  at  Niagara,  and  that  he  has  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
King  of  Britain,  but  says  he  was  forced  to  it ;  and  further,  concerning 
the  letter,  he  says  that  he  wrote  it  in  a  kind  of  mysterious  manner, 
by  reversing  the  letters,  so  that  it  might  not  be  understood,  in  case 
it  should  be  intercepted ;  and  that  he  sent  it  by  a  person  of  the 
name  of  Dennis  Clark,  and  that  he  has  seen  said  Clark  since  that 
time,  who  told  him  that  he  took  sick  upon  the  way,  and,  seeing  that 
he  could  not  get  the  letter  forwarded,  he  had  burnt  it. 


1777.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  ijg 

He  likewise  says  that  one  Nicholas  Philips,  at  Tankhannock,  noti- 
fied him  and  several  others  thereabouts  to  move  away  with  their 
families  and  connections  to  a  place  called  Tiogo,  in  the  Indian 
country,  as  the  English  were  coming  down  to  cut  off  the  inhabitants 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Mohawk  river  and  the  Suscjuehannough. 
That  there  were  fifteen  thousand  of  the  ministerial  troops  at  Niagara, 
which  were  to  be  divided ;  four  thousand  of  them  were  to  come 
down  the  North  Branch  and  four  thousand  down  the  West  Branch 
■of  Susquehannough,  and  seven  thousand  down  the  Mohawk  river, 
and  a  number  of  Indians  were  to  be  along  with  them,  and  that  the 
person  who  informed  this  Philips  of  it  was  one  John  DePeu,  who  is 
gone  off  and  joined  the  English  at  Niagara,  and  that  he  sent  him 
this  piece  of  information  by  an  Indian,  after  he  went  off. 

Upon  due  deliberation  upon  the  examination  of  Nicholas  Pick- 
ard,  the  committee  are  unanimously  of  opinion  that  he  is  an  enemy 
to  the  States  :   therefore, 

Resolved,  That  he  be  immediately  sent  from  before  this  commit- 
tee to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  this  State,  to  be  dealt  with 
as  their  superior  judgments  shall  direct  them  in  the  case,  and  that 
John  Coates  be  the  person  who  shall  carry  him  thither,  and  that  he 
call  as  many  to  his  assistance  as  niay  be  needful. 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  adjourned  till  the  loth  day  of 
June  next,  when  they  are  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Laughlan 
McCartney,  in  Northumberland. 

January  3,  was  fought  the  battle  at  Princeton,  in  which  Colonel 
Potter's  battalion  took  part.  Washington,  it  will  be  recollected, 
slipped  away  from  Cornwallis  at  Trenton,  made  a  forced  march  on 
Princeton,  and  had  already  won  the  battle  there,  when  Cornwallis, 
having  made  a  forced  march,  arrived  near  Stony  Brook.  Washing- 
ton sent  an  order  to  Colonel  Potter  to  destroy  the  bridge  at  Worth's 
Mills,  on  Stony  Brook,  in  sight  of  the  advancing  British.  Colonel 
Potter  ordered  Major  Kelly  to  make  a  detail  for  that  purpose. 
Kelly  said  he  would  not  order  another  to  do  what  some  might  say 
he  was  afraid  to  do  himself.  He  took  a  detail  and  went  to  work. 
The  British  opened  upon  him  a  heavy  fire  of  round  shot.  Before 
all  the  logs  were  cut  off,  several  balls  struck  the  log  on  which  he 
stood,  and  it  broke  down  sooner  than  he  expected,  and  he  fell  into 
the  stream.     His  party  moved  off,  not  expecting  him  to  escape. 


140  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1777. 

By  great  exertions  he  reached  the  shore  through  the  high  water  and 
floating  timbers,  and  followed  the  troops.  Incumbered,  as  he  was, 
with  his  wet  and  frozen  clothes,  he  made  prisoner  of  an  armed 
British  scout,  and  took  him  into  camp.  (Lossing,  in  his  Field  Book 
of  the  Revolution,  says  he  was  taken  prisoner.  This  is  a  mistake.) 
Colonel  Kelly  used  to  tell  that  during  this  tour,  for  three  days  at 
one  time  there  was  no  service  of  provisions,  and  during  the  march 
before  and  after  the  battle,  they  were  thirty-six  hours  under  arms 
without  sleep. 

Muster  roll  of  Captain  Benjamin  Weiser's  company.,  at  Philadelphia 
January  30,  1777. 

Captain — Weiser,  B. 

First  Lieutenant — Snider,  Christopher. 

Second  Lieutenant — Shaffer,  Adam. 

Third  Lieutenant — ^Van  Gundy,  Joseph. 

First  Sergeant — Hain,  Matthew. 

Second  Sergeant — Markle,  George. 

First  Corporal — Moyer,  Philip. 

Second  Corporal — Eisenhauer,  Frederick,  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States. 

Privates — Brosius,  George  ;  Brosius,  Nicholas ;  Faust,  John  ; 
Furst,  Christian,  sick  at  present,  (discharged  at  Reading,  by  Doctor 
Potts;)  Furst,  Conrad;  Groninger,  Henry;  Hauser,  John ;  Heim, 
John  ;  Herter,  John  ;  Herrold,  George ;  Hosterman,  Peter ;  Kauf- 
man, Henry;  Kerstetter,  Adam;  Kerstetter,  Martin:  Kerstetter, 
Leonard;  Kitch,  Thomas;  Lefifler,  Adam;  Livengood,  John;  Mei- 
ser,  John;  Moyer,  George;  Neitz,  Philip;  Newman,  Michael;  Pei- 
fer,  George;  Pickel,  Tobias;  Reitz,  Andrew;  Shafer,  Christian; 
Shafer,  Nicholas;  Snider,  Jacob;  Spengle,  Zacharias;  Stroub,  John; 
Troutner,  George,  (enlisted  in  the  United  States  service;)  Weis, 
Peter ;  Witmer,  Mathias. 

28th  January,  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  reviving  all  laws  in 
force  on  the  14th  of  May,  1776,  and  such  of  the  common  and  stat- 
ute laws  of  England  as  had  been  in  force  previously,  except  the  act 
of  allegiance,  or  those  that  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  heirs 
and  devisees  of  William  Penn,  or  were  repugnant  to  the  lately 
formed  constitution.     The  courts  were  directed  to  be  held  at  the 


I 


1777,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  141 

times  and  places  of  old,  and  the  President  and  Council  should  desig- 
nate the  presiding  justice;  in  his  absence,  the  justices  to  chose  one. 
The  election  for  justices  was  fixed  for  the  25  th  of  April,  two  persons 
from  each  township  to  be  elected,  one  commissioned.  Licenses  for 
taverns  to  be  granted  by  the  Executive  Council,  on  recommend- 
ation of  the  justices.  X4th  March,  register  and  recorder's  offices 
established  in  every  county;  and  on  the  14th  of  June,  the  county 
was  districted ;  Buffalo,  White  Deer,  and  Potter  placed  in  the  third 
district.     The  elections  to  be  held  at  Fought's  mill. 

February  i,  occurred  the  skirmish  at  Piscataway,  New  Jersey. 
Patrick  Kellahan,  of  Captain  Clarke's  company,  was  wounded  by 
a  musket  ball  in  the  right  thigh.  He. lay  a  long  while  under  the 
doctor's  hands.  The  ball,  however,  was  never  extracted,  at  least  in 
1786,  when  Colonel  James  Murray  certified  to  the  facts,  in  order 
to  his  drawing  a  pension.  Peter  Nees  was  wounded  in  the  privates,, 
and  died  from  want  of  proper  care.  He  left  a  widow,  Mary  Nees, 
and  three  children.  Henry  Dougherty  and  John  Fitzsimmons,  of 
Northumberland  county,  were  wounded.  Lieutenant  Gustavus 
Ross,  of  Lee's  company,  was  killed.  Captain  Thomas  Robinson, 
who  was  second  in  command  that  day,  said  he  was  wounded  in  the 
bowels,  and  died  that  night,  at  Ash  Swamp,  east  New  Jersey.  Rob- 
ert Wilson,  who  became  ensign  of  Cookson  Long's  company,  and 
John  Norcross,  were  wounded.  Wilson  in  the  left  foot,  Norcross 
in  the  left  shoulder. 

The  following  receipt  is  a  curiosity  in  its  way.  It  bears  date  27th 
May :  ' '  Received  of  Captain  John  Clarke  the  sum  of  five  pounds 
and  twelve  shillings  and  nine  pence,  together  with  three  pounds 
seven  shillings  and  three  pence,  together  with  four  pounds,  seven 
shillings  bounty  and  subsistence,  being  the  full  pay  for  a  private  for 
three  months  and  eighteen  days.     I  say  received  by  me. 

"  Jos.  Green." 

During  the  summer  Colonel  Kelly  was  commnnding  on  the  fron- 
tier. Van  Campen,  in  his  narrative,  says  he  served  a  tour  of  three 
months  with  him  at  this  time.  Colonel  Kelly's  guide  was  Job  Chil- 
loway,  a  friendly  Indian.  They  were  stationed  at  the  Big  Island, 
near  Lock  Haven. 

Job  Chilloway,  says  Jones,  in  his  history  of  Juniata  valley,  page 
351,  spent  his  latter  days  on  Spruce  creek,  Huntingdon   county, 


142  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1777. 

where  he  was  found  dead  in  his  cabin,  by  some  hunters,  about  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  He  was  a  tall,  muscular  man,  with  his  ears 
cut  so  as  to  hang  pendant,  like  a  pair  of  ear-rings ;  so  said  the  late 
E.  Bell,  Esquire.  He  was  of  the  Delaware  tribe,  and  his  name 
occurs  frequently  in  the  Archives,  from  1759  on,  as  a  spy,  and 
always  friendly  to  the  whites. 

April  5th,  General  James  Potter  appointed  third  brigadier  general. 

April  22.  "  Matthew  Brown,  whose  remains  lie  buried  in  White 
Deer  Hole  valley,  was  quite  a  prominent  man  in  our  history.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  overseers  of  the  poor  for  White  Deer  township  ; 
in  February,  1776,  one  of  the  committee  of  safety  for  Northumber- 
land county;  in  June  i776»,  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Council 
that  met  in  Philadelphia  to  dissolve  our  political  connection  with 
Great  Britain,  and  in  July,  1776,  a  member  of  the  State  Convention 
that  formed  our  State  Constitution  of  1776,  which  he  signed  on 
the  28th  day  of  September,  in  that  year.  In  the  autumn  of  1776 
he  entered  bur  provincial  or  United  States  army  as  a  soldier,  and 
while  serving  thus  contracted  what  was  called  'the  camp  fever,' 
which  compelled  him  to  return  home,  and  finally  carried  him  to  his 
grave.  He  lies  buried  here  in  a  field,  about  half  a  mile  south  of  my 
residence.  His  grave  is  surrounded  with  a  rude  unmortared  stone 
wall,  put  there  by  his  wife,  Eleanor  Brown,  the  widow  named  in  our 
above  list  of  names.  After  surviving  him  for  a  period  of  thirty-seven 
years,  she  also  died,  and  now  lies  buried  at  his  side.  The  inclosure 
is  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  square  in  the  clear,  inside,  and  contains 
two  upright,  plain  white  marble  tombstones,  now  much  discolored 
and  blackened  by  time,  leaving  the  following  inscriptions  and  noth- 
ing more,  to  wit  : 

'MATTHEW  BROWN, 

Died  April  2  2  ^/,  1 7  7  7 . ' 

'ELEANOR  BKOWN, 

Wife  of  Matthew  Brown, 

Died  August  9 ,  1 8 1 4. ' 

"And  inside  of  this  stone  inclosure  there  stands  four  living  trees, 

viz :  a  straight  and  handsome  hickory  tree  of  about  si.xteen  inches 

in  diameter  near  the  ground,  and  three  other  crooked  and  scraggy 

trees,  a  wild  cherry  tree,  and  two  elm  trees  of  some  seven  or  eight 


1777. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  if3 

inches  in  diameter  near  the  ground.  Mr.  Brown  seems  to  have 
been  well  off,  and  doubtless  owned  this  land  and  lived  somewhere 
near  where  he  now  lies  buried." — J.   F.    Woljinger. 

loth  May,  occurred  the  action  at  Piscataway,  New  Jersey.  Chris- 
topher Gettig,  afterwards  many  years  a  justice  at  Sunbury,  was 
acting  first  lieutenant  that  day  in  Colonel  Cooke's  regiment.  He 
was  wounded  in  the  leg  and  taken  prisoner.  His  leg  had  to  be 
amputated.  Some  of  his  descendants  live  near  Bellefonte,  Centre 
county,  (1877.) 

nth  September,  battle  of  Brandywine.  Captain  John  Brady 
was  badly  wounded.  William  Boyd,^  his  lieutenant  was  killed. 
Adam  Christ,  of  Buffalo  Valley,  was  wounded  in  the  breast,  a  mus- 
ket ball  passing  clear  through  his  body.  Samuel  Brady  was  also  in 
this  battle.  The  twelfth  was  under  General  Wayne,  at  Chadd's 
Ford.  General  Potter  was  with  General  Armstrong  at  Pyles'  Ford. 
Christ  was  in  Lieutenant  Colonel  James  Murray's  battalion,  under 
Potter. 

20th,  occurred  the  Paoli  massacre.  Samuel  Brady  was  on  guard, 
and  laid  down  with  his  blanket  buckled  around  him.  The  British 
were  nearly  on  them  before  the  sentinel  fired.  Brady  ran ;  and  as 
he  jumped  a  fence,  a  soldier  struck  at  him  with  a  musket  and  pinned 
his  blanket  to  a  rail.  He  tore  the  blanket,  and  dashed  on.  A 
horseman  overtook  him,  and  ordered  him  to  stop.  He  wheeled  and 
shot  the  horseman  dead,  and  got  into  a  small  swamp,  supposing  no 
one  in  but  himself.  In  the  morning  he  found  fifty-five  men  in  it, 
of  whom  he  took  command  and  conducted  to  camp. 

ist  November,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  he  had  orders  for  the 
third  and  fourth  classes  of  militia  to  march,  but  he  had  neither  arms 
or  blankets  for  them  ;  that  the  first  and  second  classes  were  on  the 
frontiers,  and  had  all  the  good  arms  that  could  be  collected ;  that 
the  people  were  in  a  bad  way ;  had  not  got  in  any  crops.  For  the 
state  of  the  country,  he  referred  President  Wharton  to  Captain 
John  Hambright,  who  had  been  chosen  of  the  Council.     That  the 

1  William  Boyd  was  the  son  of  Sarah  Boyd,  a  widow,  who  resided  at  Northumber- 
land, and  a  brother  of  Thomas,  who  shared  in  all  the  danj^ers  and  fatigues  of  the 
Canada  campaign,  (see  Judge  Henry's  Memoirs  of  Arnold's  Expedition,)  and  fell 
a  sacrifice  to  Indian  barbarity  in  Sullivan's  expedition.  Another  brother,  Captain 
Boyd,  lived  at  Northumberland  many  years  afterwards.  See  Meginuess,  page  286, 
for  his  adventures. 


/,V  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1777. 

county  was  the  worst  off  of  any  in  the  State  for  salt.     His  next  let- 
ter, nth  November,  Fort  Augusta,  is  as  follows: 

Sir  :  This  day  the  third  and  fourth  classes  of  the  third  battalion 
march  to  join  the  army  of  General  Washington,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  James  Murray.  The  two  classes  of  Colonel  Cook- 
son  Long's  battalion  I  have  ordered  to  duty  on  the  frontiers,  as  the 
first  class,  that  was  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Kelly,  has  come 
off  from  thence,  after  serving  two  months,  to  encourage  the  poor, 
scattered  inhabitants  to  return  back  to  their  habitations,  which  I 
hope  will  be  approved  by  the  Council.  The  militia  that  now 
marches  is  badly  off  for  blankets,  and  several  go  without  any,  and 
but  thinly  clothed,  which  shows  their  attachment  to  the  American 
cause  ;  though  poor,  yet  brave,  and  can  be  depended  upon  for  their 
integrity.  The  first  class  that  did  duty  up  the  Bald  Eagle  looks  to 
me  for  pay.     It  has  come  home  with  the  loss  of  two  men,  drowned 

in  the  river. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  Hunter. 

By  way  of  appendix  to  the  year  1777,  I  insert  a  letter  to  Gen- 
eral James  Potter.  His  correspondence,  embracing  letters  from  all 
the  principal  characters  in  the  Revolution,  from  General  Washing- 
ton to  Lady  Harriet  Ackland,  after  being  many  years  carefully  pre- 
served on  his  garret,  were  scattered  to  the  four  winds,  in  the  mis- 
fortune of  some  of  his  descendants,  some  twenty  years  ago.  His 
dark  lantern  is  still  in  the  possession  of  Colonel  William  P.  Wilson, 
of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  one  of  his  descendants. 

General  Potter's  positions  are  indicated  as  follows:  July  22,  in 
command  at  Billingsport ;  29th  August,  in  command  of  the  first 
brigade,  Pennsylvania  militia,  at  Chester;  September  i,  at  Wilming- 
ton \  2d  and  5th  moved  up  to  Newport. 

Head  Quarters,  31X/  October,  1777. 

Sir  :  As  soon  as  the  Schuylkill  is  fordable,  I  shall  send  over  a 
large  body  of  militia  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of  executing  some  par- 
ticular matters.  The  principal  one,  to  endeavor  to  break  up  the 
road  by  which  the  enemy  have  a  communication  with  their  shipping 
over  the  islands,  if  it  is  practicable ;  and  to  remove  the  running 
stones  from  the  mills  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chester  and  Wilming- 
ton.    This  last  I  would  have  you  undertake  immediately,  with  your 


1777.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  145 

present  force,  as  I  have  information  that  the  enemy  are  about  making 
a  detachment  to  Wihiiington,  probably  with  an  intent  to  take  post 
there,  and  secure  the  use  of  the  mills.  To  execute  this  matter  at 
once,  you  should  impress  a  sufficient  number  of  wagons  for  the  pur- 
pose, without  letting  any  person  know  what  they  are  for,  and  send 
them  under  good  officers,  with  sufficient  parties,  to  the  following 
mills  : 

Lloyd's,  about  two  miles  on  this  side  of  Chester ;  Robinson's,  on 
Naaman's  creek  ;  Shaw's,  about  one  mile  back  of  Chester,  and  the 
Brandywine  mills.  If  there  are  any  other  that  I  have  not  men- 
tioned, contiguous  to  the  river,  they  are  also  to  be  dismounted. 
The  stones  should  be  marked  with  tar  and  grease,  or  in  some  other 
manner,  that  it  may  be  known  to  what  mills  they  belong,  that  they 
may  be  returned,  and  made  use  of  in  the  future,  and  they  should  be 
moved  to  such  distance  that  the  enemy  cannot  easily  recover  them. 
If  there  is  any  flour  in  the  mills,  it  should  be  removed,  if  possible, 
after  the  stones  are  secured.  I  am  informed  that  there  is  consider- 
able quantity  in  Shaw's  mill,  particularly,  which  there  is  reason  to 
believe  is  intended  for  the  enemy.  It  is  very  convenient  to  the 
navigation  of  Chester  creek,  and  should  be  first  taken  care  of.  I 
beg  you  may  instantly  set  about  this  work,  for  the  reason  above 
mentioned.  That  no  previous  alarm  may  be  given,  let  a  certain 
day  and  a  certain  hour  be  fixed  upon  for  the  execution  of  the  whole 
at  one  time,  and  even  the  officerswho  are  to  do  the  business  should 
not  know  their  destination  till  just  before  they  set  out,  lest  it  should 
take  wind. 

I  have  yours  of  yesterday  afternoon,  and  am  glad  to  hear  that  the 
flood  has  done  so  much  damage  to  the  meadows.  Endeavor  by  all 
means  to  keep  the  breakers  open.  When  the  party  that  I  mentioned 
in  the  former  part  of  my  letter  gets  down,  I  hope  you  will  be  able 
to  break  up  the  dyke  effectually. 

I  am  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

George  Washington. 

P.  S.  I  have  desired  Captain  Lee,  of  the  light  horse,  to  give  you 
any  assistance  that  you  may  want. 

General  Potter. 

From  the  camp  at  Mr.  Lewes',  November  12,  1777,  after  recom- 
mending Thomas  Jordan  for  paymaster.  General  Potter  writes  : 
10 


i4(>  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1777. 

"As  for  news,  I  liave  not  much.  Yesterday  came  up  the  river 
thirty-eight  sail  of  the  enemy.  What  number  of  troops  were  on 
hoard  is  a  secret  to  me.  I  went  to  Chester  in  the  evening,  but  could 
not  learn.  There  has  been  very  heavy  firing  for  three  days  past. 
The  first  day  they  did  no  damage  to  the  works  or  the  men.  I  have 
intelligence  almost  every  day  from  the  city.  Howe  is  the  best  Whig- 
maker  in  the  United  States.  He  has  converted  many  from  the  evil 
of  their  ways,  and  turned  them  unto  the  country.  Distress  and  want 
is  likely  to  abound  in  the  city.  I  am  told  the  poor  would  have 
suffered  before  this  time,  if  General  Washington  had  not  allowed 
them  to  get  flour  at  the  Frankfort  mills.  Friend  Howe  is  not  a  par- 
tial man.  He  uses  Whig  and  Tory  alike,  which  is  the  best  thing  I 
can  say  of  him.  The  friends  to  the  Government  lent  friend  Howe 
^100,000.  I  believe  by  this  time  they  would  not  refuse  security, 
if  offered .  The  enemy  have  made  two  floating  lotteries,  but  they  are 
constructed  so  badly  and  sunk  so  deep  in  the  water,  they  will  do  us 
little  damage.  My  men  brought  in  to-day  five  British  soldiers  pris- 
oners. We  catch  them  napping,  sometimes.  Firing  has  been  heavy 
to-day,  but  we  stand  it  as  yet.  I  have  tried  to  get  a  man  to  go  to 
Red  Bank  to-day,  and  to-morrow  I  hope  I  will  get  an  account  from 
there.  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  George  Read,  Esquire,  Pres- 
ident of  Delaware  State,  informing  that  their  militia  had  seized  a 
number  of  people,  who  were  supplying  the  enemy's  shipping  with  fresh 
provisions,  and  destroyed  six  of  their  vessels  in  Duck  creek.  Three 
weeks  ago  I  advised  the  taking  and  keeping  of  Province  and  Car- 
penter's Islands.  If  this  had  been  done,  friend  Howe  would  have 
been  hungry  by  this  time,  ^^'c  have  it  reported  that  on  Wednesday 
last  our  people  sank  a  sixty-four  gun  ship.  On  Monday  our  people 
took  twelve  light  horse  and  some  foot  prisoners.  The  soldiers  in  the 
city  say  often  that  they  look  upon  themselves  as  our  prisoners.  One 
day  one  of  the  sentinels  told  Major  Taylor  so. 

"  With  esteem,  your  Excellency's  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  James  Potter." 

Directed,  on  public  service.  His  Excellency,  Thomas  Wharton, 
Esquire,  Lancaster,  favor  of  Mr.  Thomas  Jordan. 

nth  December  occurred  the  action,  at  Guelph's  mills,  (near 
Philadelphia,)  in  which  the  enemy  endeavored  to  surprise  General 
Pjtter.     The  second  battalion,  under  Colonel  Murray,  was  engaged. 


1778]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  J 47 

Timothy  Lennington,  of  Northumberland  county,  was  wounded ; 
Robert  McQuilhams  was  also  wounded,  and  cut  to  pieces  by  the  light 
horse,  the  same  evening ;  Charles  Clark,  first  lieutenant  of  Captain 
Taggart's  company,  was  wounded  in  the  left  arm ;  had  his  skull  frac- 
tured ;  he  remained  in  captivity  three  years. 

December  15,  General  Potter  writes  home,  that  in  an  action  a  few 
days  previous  his  people  behaved  well,  particularly  the  regiments  of 
Colonel  Chambers  and  Colonel  Murray. 

December  31,  the  Council  request  General  Potter  to  stay  in  the 
field  during  the  winter,  or  for  some  time  yet  at  least.  The  year 
closes  gloomily  enough,  with  the  army  encamped  at  Valley  Forge. 

A  return,  dated  Camp,  in  Montgomery,  Philadelphia  county, 
December  22,  shows  that  Colonel  Murray's  regiment,  of  Northum- 
berland county  militia,  was  then  in  Major  General  John  Armstrong's 
division,  and  numbered  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  men  on  the  rolls. 


i^rs 


List  of  Inhabitants — Indian  Troubles — Great  Runaway  of  1778 — 
Covenhoven's  Narrative — John  Bashor  Killed — Incident  of  Quinn 
Family — Monmouth  Battle — James  Brady's  Death — Colonel  Hart- 
ley's Expedition. 

iHOMAS  WHARTON,  President  of  the  State  until  his 
death  at  Lancaster,  23d  May.  Members  of  Congress, 
Clingan,  William;  Morris,  Robert ;  Roberdeau,  Daniel ; 
Reed,  Joseph ;  Smith,  James ;  and  Smith,  Jonathan  B. 
Samuel  Hunter,  Lieutenant  of  the  county.  John  Hambright, 
member  of  Council.  Members  of  Assembly  elected,  October  2, 
Chambers,  Stephen  ;  Dale,  Samuel ;  Himrod,  Simon  ;  McKnight, 
James;  Martin,  Robert ;  and  White,  John.  The  candidates  voted 
for,  having,  according  to  the  returns  of  the  judges  of  the.  election, 
received  the  following  number  of  votes  each:  Samuel  Dale,  251 ; 


148  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  fl778. 

Simon  Himrod,  250;  James  McKnight,  247;  Robert  Martin,  246; 
John  White,  211;  Stephen  Chambers,  201;  Robert  Fruit;  173; 
James  Crawford,  170.  Another  return,  signed  by  John  Kelly, 
Walter  Clark,  and  Jacob  Fulmer,  judges,  declared  Robert  Fruit  and 
James  Crawford  elected,  instead  of  White  and  Chambers;  but  the 
House  declared,  November  7,  that  the  return  of  John  Clingman, 
William  Fisher,  and  Michael  Hessler,  was  the  legal  one.  David  Har- 
ris, Prothonotary.  Jonathan  Lodge,  Sheriff.  January  i ,  Benjamin 
Weiser  of  Penn's,  appointed  a  justice.  County  Commissioners, 
William  Gray,  John  Nelson,  and  Thomas  Sutherland ;  John  Lytle 
elected  in  October.  Officers  of  Buffalo  :  Constable,  Martin  Trester  ; 
Supervisors,  John  Pontius  and  George  Williams ;  Overseers,  William 
Speddy  and  Martin  Dreisbach.  White  Deer :  Constable,  Henry 
Derr;  Supervisors,  James  Hammond  and  William  Rodman  ;  Over- 
seers, Charles  McGenet  and  William  Wilson. 

Inhabitants  of  Buffalo  who  came  in  after  1775.  Books,  Henry; 
Barnhart,  Martin ;  Colpetzer,  Adam ;  Chambers,  Robert ;  Cox, 
Samuel ;  Divler,  Joseph  ;  Dempsey,  Cornelius ;  Dugan,  William ; 
Frederick,  Thomas;  Ferguson,  John;  Gilliland,  John;  Haugha- 
waut,  Liffard,  tenant  of  Samuel  McClay's  place;  Irvin,  William, 
(miller,)  Mensch,  Abraham,  (who  owned  and  lived  on  Abraham 
Wolfe's  place,  in  East  Buffalo.  His  wife  died  in  the  Valley,  and 
was  buried  at  Jenkins  mill.  He  left  with  the  runaway  of  1779, 
taking  with  him  his  boys,  Christian  and  John,  and  one  horse.  He 
never  returned.  He  married  again,  and  the  late  Reverend  J. 
Nicholas  Mensch,  was  a  son  by  the  second  wife.  Christian  went 
to  Ohio,  John  to  New  York ;  the  latter  died,  about  the  same  time 
the  Reverend  J.  Nicholas  died,  at  Lewisburg,  in  1854.  The  father 
of  Abraham  and  Benjamin,  of  Lewis  township,  was  a  nephew  of 
the  one  here  spoken  of.)  Mizener,  Henry  and  Conrad;  Prinkler, 
Charles ;  Shirtz,  Michael ;  Struble,  Richard ;  Stroh,  Nicholas,  on 
now  Samuel  Dunkel's  place.  (Mathias  Allspach  made  crocks  there. 
The  latter  killed,  with  a  potter's  stick,  a  wolf  following  the  sheep 
into  the  yard;)  Henry  Winkert. 

List  of  Inhabitants  of  White  Deer. 

Allen,  Samuel;  Amnion,  George;  Armstrong,  William;  Baker,  Ja- 
cob; Blue,  Frederick;  Blue,  William;  Blythe,  William;  Boone,  Haw- 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  149 

kins ;  Brown,  Eleanor  ;  Brundage,  Joseph  ;  Buchanan,  James  ;  Cald- 
well, James  ;  Carnachan,  William ;  Campbell,  John;  Charters,  Wil- 
liam ;  Clark,  Robert;  Clark,  Walter;  Clark,  William;  Cook,  Henry ; 
Cooper,  Robert ;  Correy,  Robert ;  Couples,  David  ;  Crasher,  Wil- 
liam; Croninger,  Leonard  ;  Dale,  Samuel ;  Deal,  Christian  ;  Dean, 
Benjamin;  Derr,  Joseph;  Derr,  Henry  ;  Diffenderfer,  Michael ;  Dier- 
mand,  Thomas;  Dike,  David;  Dunbar,  Samuel;  Earl,  Michael; 
Elder,  Thomas ;  Ellis,  Richard;  Etterburn,  Jacob ;  Ewing,  Alex- 
ander ;  Fisher,  Christian  ;  Fisher,  John  ;  Fisher,  Samuel,  saw-mill  ; 
Fleming,  Hans  ;  Fockler,  George  ;  Foutz,  Conrad  ;  Fruit,  Robert ; 
Fulton,  John;  Gibson,  Robert;  Graham,  Edward;  Graham,  John  ; 
Graham,  Thomas;  Gray,  William;  Green,  Ebenezer ;  Hammond, 
David;  Hammond,  James  ;  Hays,  James;  Hazlett,  John;  Heckle, 
Andrew;  Heckman,  Andrew ;  Hill,  James;  Hood,  Elizabeth; 
Houston,  Doctor  John  ;  Huling,  Marcus,  saw-mill ;  Hunter,  James  ; 
Hutchinson,  Thomas;  Iddings,  Henry;  Irwin,  George;  Irwin, 
Richard  ;  James,  Thomas ;  Johnson,  John  ;  Johnson,  William  ; 
Jordan,  William ;  Kelly,  John  ;  Kilday,  George ;  Kirkwood,  John  ; 
Lafferty,  Isaac ;  Laird,  Nicholas ;  Leacock,  John;  Linn,  John;  Lob- 
den,  Thomas  ;  Low,  Cornelius  ;  Low,  Cornelius,  junior ;  Low,  Wil- 
liam ;  Lykens,  Thomas  ;  McCard,  James ;  McClenachan,  James  ; 
McCollum,  John;  McComb,  Daniel;  McClure,  Thomas;  McCord, 
Samuel;  McCormick,  James;  McCormick,  Thomas;  McGinnes, 
Samuel ;  McLaughlin,  James  ;  Mcjannet,  Charles  ;  Mackey,  Wil- 
liam ;  Mafifit,  Joseph;  Martin,  Robert;  Mason,  William;  Mitchel- 
tree,  John ;  Moodie,  Robert ;  Moore,  Henry ;  Moore,  John  ; 
Moore,  Thomas;  Nicholson,  William ;  Noraconk,  Daniel;  Norcross, 
John  ;  Orr,  William  ;  Pearson,  Widow  ;  Poak,  James,  saw-mill  : 
Poak,  Joseph  ;  Reed,  William  ;  Reed,  Widow ;  Reese,  George  ; 
Robb,  William;  Rodman,  William;  Row,  James ;  Row,  Joseph; 
Ridehower,  Peter ;  Semple,  John  ;  Semple,  Robert  ;  Shaw,  Hamil- 
ton ;  Shearer,  Samuel  ;  Shields,  Archibald  ;  Smith,  John,  senior  ; 
Smith,  John,  junior  ;  Smith,  Widow;  Stephen,  Alexander  ;  Stephen, 
Philip;  Story,  John;  Stover,  Philip;  Sunderland,  Daniel;  Swartz, 
Peter;  Tate,  John;  Tate,  Joseph;  Titzell,  Henry,  grist  and  saw- 
mill, (Ranch's  now;)  Townsend,  Codder;  Turner,  Thomas;  Weeks, 
Jesse  ;  Weeks,  Joseph ;  Weitzell,  John  ;  Wertz,  Deidrich  ;  Wheeland, 


ISO  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1778. 

George  ;    White,  Joseph  ;     Wilson,  Peter  ;    Wilson,  Peter,   junior ; 
Wilson,  William  ;  Yarnall,  Jesse. 

Doctor  John  Houston  was  the  earliest  physician  in  White  Deer 
township,  that  I  have  any  knowledge  of.  He  is  said  to  have  resided 
at  or  near  the  present  village  of  Hightown. 

Additional  List  of  Inhabitants,  Penn's  Township. 

Aumiller,  Philip  ;  Bader,  George  ;  Bartges,  Christopher  ;  Bearsh, 
Peter;  Begel,  Thomas;  Benford,  George;  Billman,  Abraham; 
Bickel,  John  ;  Bornson,  Catharine  ;  Bowerman,  George ;  Bower- 
man,  John  ;  Borald,  Adam;  Bowersox,  Paul;  Boreminginan,  Peter; 
Bollinger,  Adam ;  Braucht,  Daniel ;  Brenard,  Francis ;  Buchtel, 
John;  Bumbach,  George,  senior;  Byerly,  Anthony;  Carrol, 
Hugh;  Clemens,  Abraham  ;  Conrad,  George  ;  Dauberman,  Chris- 
tian ;  Deininger,  Frederick;  Eberhart,  Frederick  ;  Eckart,  Jacob ; 
Fannery,  Benjamin  ;  Fisher,  Jacob  ;  Fisher,  Adam ;  Fiddler,  Ste- 
phen ;  Foulke,  Jacob  ;  Fry,  John  ;  Gast,  Christian  ;  Gay,  Frederick  ; 
Gemberling,  Paul ;  Gemberling,  Jacob ;  Gill,  William  ;  Giltner, 
Jacob  ;  Gillan,  Moses  ;  Gift,  Adam  ;  Glass,  George  ;  Gundy,  Peter  ; 
Hafer,  Andrew;  Hains,  John;  Hampshire,  John  ;  Harmin,  Henry; 
Hassinger,  Herman  ;  Havelock,  Conrad  ;  Hawn,  Michael ;  Hen- 
dershot,  Casper  ;  Herrold,  Simon ;  Herrold,  George,  a  grist  mill ; 
Hess,  Mathias  ;  Hosterman,  Jacob;  Houser,  Mathias  ;  Kern,  Yost; 
Kiester,  Martin;  Knippenberger,  Paul;  Kline,  David;  Krain, 
Hugh ;  Laudenslager,  Ferdy ;  Lepley,  Jacob ;  Lever,  Adam ; 
Lower,  Peter ;  McAteer,  Robert ;  McCabe,  Edward ;  Magill, 
Valentine  ;  Manning,  Simeon,  senior  and  junior  ;  Maris,  William  ; 
Miller,  Conrad ;  Miller,  Dewalt,  saw-mill  ;  Miller,  Sigamund ; 
Mitchell,  Daniel ;  Mockell,  Nicholas ;  Molly,  Anthony  ;  Moon, 
John,  one  grist  mill ;  Moon,  Casper,  junior  ;  Moore,  Andrew,  two 
mills  ;  Moyer,  Jacob  ;  Moyer,  Charles  ;  Mower,  Michael ;  Musser, 
John ;  Nees,  Thomas ;  Netz,  Ludwig ;  Oatly,  Edward ;  Paul, 
Dewalt;  Phillips,  Benjamin  ;  Reed,  John  ;  Reger,  John;  Reiber, 
John  ;  Richter,  Christena ;  Rine,  Henry  ;  Rorabaugh,  Simon  ; 
Roush,  Jacob  ;  Roush,  John  ;  Seecrist,  Christian,  saw-mill ;  Sherk, 
John;  Shirtz,  Jacob;  Shock,  Jacob;  Shoop,  George;  Snyder, 
Christopher;  Spangler,  Andrew;  Spengle,  Zachariah;  Stock,  John ; 
Stock,   Peter ;    Stock,  Michael ;  Stoke,  George ;   Stum,  Abraham, 


1778.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  151 

junior ;  Swineford,  Albright,  one  grist  and  saw-mill  ;  Thomas, 
John  ;  Trester,  George  ;  Trester,  Martin  ;  Trester,  Jacob  ;  Weirich, 
William  ;  Weiser,  Philip  ;  Weiser,  John  ;  Welsh,  John  ;  Willis, 
John  ;  Wittenmyer,  Andrew  ;  Woodrow,  Simeon  ;  Yost,  Casper  ; 
Zimmerman,  Christopher. 

January  ist,  (from  minutes  of  Council,)  Joseph  Green  presented  his 
claim  for  supplying  the  militia  with  provisions  while  on  their  expe- 
dition up  the  West  Branch,  and  an  order  was  issued  for  ^1,600  to 
Colonel  Hunter  for  the. same. 

January  9th,  General  Potter  gets  leave  of  absence,  in  consequence 
of  sickness  of  Mrs.  Potter,  and  Brigadier  General  John  Lacey  ap- 
pointed to  his  command. 

February  17th,  General  Wayne  detached  Captain  William  Wilson, 
Lieutenant  John  Boyd,  and  Captain  George  Grant  to  recruit  for  the 
Pennsylvania  regiments  in  Northumberland  county.  At  February 
sessions,  Samuel  Maclay  presented  a  petition,  stating  that  his  ser- 
vant had  enlisted  in  the  Twelftli  Pennsylvania  regiment,  and  John 
Thompson  and  William  Irvine  (Irish)  were  appointed  to  appraise 
the  time  of  said  servant.  February  20th,  Samuel  Dale,  member 
elect,  took  his  seat  in  the  /\ssembly,  at  Lancaster.  March  9th, 
James  Murray  appeared.  Nothwithstanding  the  Indian  troubles, 
courts  were  held  in  February  and  in  May.  At  the  latter,  John 
Clark,  John  Crider,  George  Overmeier,  Martin  Dreisbach,  and 
William  Irwin  were  appointed  viewers  on  a  petition  to  divide  Buffalo 
township,  by  a  line  commencing  at  the  mouth  of  Beaver  run,  thence 
a  south-west  course  to  Switzer  run.     This  was  never  acted  upon. 

At  August  term,  Stephen  Chambers  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  On 
the  grand  jury,  were  Albright  Swineford,  Elias  Younkman,  Henry 
Richard,  and  Thomas  Sutherland.  At  November  term,  Collinson 
Read  and  John  Vannost,  were  admitted  to  the  bar.  Abraham 
Mensch,  Peter  Wicoff,  and  William  Clark,  were  jurors. 

As  early  as  Dececember,  1777,  the  Indians  re-appeared  up  the 
West  Branch,  and  Colonel  Hunter  ordered  out  Colonel  Cookson 
Long's  battalion,  as  he  says  he  is  an  excellent  good  woodsman ;  but 
for  all  that,  on  the  ist  of  January,  one  of  the  inhabitants  was  killed 
and  scalped,  two  miles  above  the  Great  Island,  and  eleven  Indians 
seen,  who  were  pursued,  and  two  killed.  In  consequence,  the  order 
for  the  fifth  class  of  militia  to  march  to  join  the  army  was  counter- 


152  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  1778. 

manded  on  the  19th.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  main  army 
was  in  camp  at  Valley  Forge,  at  this  time.  On  the  ist  of  May, 
General  Lacey's  militia  command  was  surromided  at  Crooked  Billet- 
General  Lacey  says,  the  alarm  was  so  sudden  that  I  had  scarcely 
time  to  mount  my  horse,  before  the  enemy  were  wnthin  musket  shot 
of  my  quarters.  He  escaped,  with  the  loss  of  his  baggage,  and  thirty 
killed  and  wounded.  Some  were  butchered  in  a  manner  the  most 
brutal  savages  could  not  equal.  Even  while  living,  some  were  thrown 
into  the  buckwheat  straw,  and  the  straw  set  on  fire.  The  clothes 
were  burned  on  others,  and  scarcely  one  without  a  dozen  of  wounds. 

From  the  diary  of  James  F.  Linn  under  date,  December  2,  1845, 
I  extract  the  following  :  '-'  Uncle  David  Linn  told  me  some  anec- 
dotes of  Abraham  Smith,  who  was  married  to  his  sister  Jane,  and 
who  died  in  Ohio  some  years  since.  He  was  at  Crooked  Billet,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  with  some  others.  They  lost  four  or  five  men  by 
shots.  They  knew  not  where  they  came  from.  At  last  Morrow 
(grandfather  of  my  brother  William's  widow)  got  sight  of  the  man, 
who  was  shooting  from  behind  a  tree.  He  told  them  to  keep  still, 
and  he  would  fix  him.  When  the  man  stepped  from  behind  the  tree 
to  load.  Morrow  fired,  and  one  of  them  saw  him  drop  his  hands 
upon  his  belly,  and  fall  forward.  They  lossed  no  more  men  in  that 
way.  After  they  were  taken,  they  were  ordered  to  be  shot  as  rebels. 
The  reason  for  shooting  the  prisoners  was,  that  they  were  short  of 
provisions.  They  shot  Maclay  and  Conner,  and  burned  their 
bodies  in  a  pile  of  buckwheat  straw.  It  was  Smith's  turn  next.  He 
stood  up,  and  kept  his  e}'e  on  the  man  who  was  to  shoot  him,  until 
he  thought  he  was  about  to  draw  the  trigger,  when  he  dodged  for- 
ward, and  the  bullet  took  the  depth  of  itself  out  of  his  back,  op- 
posite his  breast.  An  officer  then  interfered,  and  stopped  the  shoot- 
ing." Crooked  Billet  is  now  called  Hatborough,  in  Montgomery 
county,  Pennsylvania. 

John  Dietrich  Aurand  (afterward  Reverend)  enlisted  in  Colonel 
Stewart's  Regiment,  General  Wayne's  brigade.  He  had  been  learning 
milling  at  his  father's  mill,  on  Turtle  creek.  His  father  sold  the  mill 
this  year,  and,  possibly,  going  down  the  country  in  search  of  employ- 
ment, he  fell  in  with  the  recruiting  officer.  Before  his  term  expired 
his  father  went  to  the  army,  and  made  an  effort  to  secure  his  release, 
on  the  ground  of  minority ;  but  he  declined  returning,  and  served 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  isj 

until  the  year  1781,  when  occurred  the  revolt  of  General  Wayne's 
troops,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged,  and  returned  to  his 
father's  home  on  Turtle  creek. 

May  4,  Colonel  Cooke,  twelfth  regiment,  under  General  Wayne, 
in  camp  at  Mount  Joy.  5  th  May,  Colonel  John  Kelly,  with  part  of 
his  battalion,  on  duty  in  Penn's  valley.  May  8,  Jacob  Standford 
killed  at  his  own  house,  in  Penn's  valley,  with  his  wife  and  daughter, 
and  his  son,  ten  or  eleven  years  old,  missing.^ 

May  1 7,  General  Potter  writes  from  upper  Fort,  Penn's  valley, 
that  he  was  informed  by  Colonel  Long  that  a  few  families  coming 
to  Lycoming,  escorted  by  a  party  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Hosterman,  were  attacked  by  twelve  Indians,  who  killed  six  of  them, 
and  six  were  missing.  Three  men  were  killed,  at  the  same  time,  on 
Loyal  Sock ;  twenty  persons  killed  on  the  North  Branch.  One  who 
was  taken  prisoner  made  his  escape,  and  says  the  Indians  are  determ- 
ined to  clear  the  two  branches  of  the  Susquehanna  this  moon.  He 
says  we  have  two  forts  in  the  Valley,  and  are  determined  to  stand  as 
long  as  we  are  supported.  The  people  were  poor,  and  bread  very 
high.  May  30.  Jacob  Morgan  writes,  that  he  had  just  returned 
from  camp  at  Valley  Forge.  He  saw  fifteen  regiments  under  arms, 
as  well  disciplined  as  any  of  the  British  troops  can  be.  They  per- 
formed several  maneuvers,  with  the  greatest  exactness  and  dispatch, 
under  the  direction  of  Baron  Steuben.  General  Washington  after- 
wards reviewed  them.  The  British  were  about  evacuating  Philadel- 
phia, and  our  army  would  follow.  One  regiment,  under  Arnold, 
was  to  go  into  Philadelphia  for  civil  service,  until  the  Executive 
Council  could  get  there. 

31st  May,  Colonel  Hunter  writes,  "we  are  in  a  melancholy  con- 
dition. The  back  inhabitants  have  left  their  homes.  All  above 
Muncy  are  at  Samuel  Wallis's.  The  people  of  Muncy  are  at  Captain 
Brady's.  All  above  Lycoming  are  at  Antes'  mill  and  the  mouth  of 
Bald  Eagle.  The  people  of  Penn's  valley  are  at  one  place  in  Potter 
township.  The  inhabitants  of  White  Deer  are  assembled  at  three 
different  places.  The  back  settlers  of  Buffalo  have  come  down  to 
the  river.  Penn's  township  people  have,  likewise,  moved  to  the 
river.  All  from  Muncy  hill  to  Chillisquaque  have  assembled  at 
three  different    places.     Fishing  creek  and    Mahoning  settlements 

'  Their  graves  are  on  Ephraim  Keller's  farm,  west  of  Potter's  Fort,  (1872.) 


154  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1778. 

have  come  to  the  river  side.  It  is  really  distressing  to  see  the  peo- 
ple flying  away,  and  leaving  their  all,  especially  the  Jersey  people, 
who  came  up  here  last  winter  and  spring.  Not  one  stays,  but  sets 
off  to  Jersey  again."  2d  June,  he  writes  that  the  people  have  drawn 
up  a  petition  to  Congress  for  relief,  and  Robert  Fruit  and  Thomas 
Jordan  were  set  off  to  lay  it  before  the  Executive  Council,  for  their 
approval,  before  presenting  it  to  Congress. 

May  6,  Colonel  Kelly  and  Thomas  Hewitt  were  appointed  agents 
of  forfeited  estates  within  the  county. 

June  13,  Michael  Campbell,  of  Colonel  Hosterman's  battalion, 
killed  by  the  Indians. 

June  14,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  communication  between 
Antes'  mill  and  Big  Island  was  cut  off. 

June  17,  General  Potter  writes  that  Captain  Pealer's  company,  in 
Nittany  valley,  had  discovered  a  number  of  tracks,  leading  down 
Logan's  Gap,  quite  fresh ;  thirty  in  number. 

July  I,  army  moved  toward  New  York.  The  twelfth  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  Wayne's  brigade,  left  wing,  under  General  Stirling. 

The  " Great  Runaway." 

July  3d  occurred  the  massacre  at  Wyoming,  the  news  of  which, 
received  on  the  5th,  caused  the  general  stampede  of  the  settlers  of 
our  Valley,  called  the  "  Great  Runaway." 

On  the  9th,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  both  branches  are  nearly 
evacuated,  and  Northumberland  and  Sunbury  will  be  the  frontier  in 
less  than  twenty-four  hours.  His  letter  evinces  the  agony  of  a  strong 
man,  who,  with  all  supports  taken  away,  was  determined  to  fall,  if 
need  be,  in  defense  of  the  charge  committed  to  him.     He  says  : 

"Nothing  but  a  firm  reliance  upon  Divine  Providence,  and  the 
virtue  of  our  neighbors,  induces  the  few  to  stand  that  remain  in  the 
two  towns ;  and  if  they  are  not  speedily  reinforced  they  must  give 
way  ;  but  will  have  this  consolation,  that  they  have  stood  in  defence 
of  their  liberty  and  country  as  long  as  they  could.  In  justice  to  this 
county,  I  must  bear  testimony  that  the  States  never  applied  to  it  for 
men  in  vain.  I  am  sure  the  State  must  know  that  we  have  reduced 
ourselves  to  our  present  feeble  condition  by  our  readiness  to  turn 
out,  upon  all  occasions,  when  called  for  in  defence  of  the  common 
cause.     Should  we  now  fall,  for  want  of  assistance,  let  the  neighbor- 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  155 

ing  counties  reconcile  to  themselves,  if  they  can,  the  breach  of  broth- 
erly love,  charity,  and  every  other  virtue  which  adorns  and  advances 
the  human  species  above  the  brute  creation.  I  will  not  attempt  to 
point  out  the  particular  cruelties  or  barbarities  that  have  been  prac- 
tised on  our  unhappy  inhabitants,  but  assure  you  that,  for  the  num- 
ber, history  affords  no  instance  of  more  heathenish  cruelty  or  savage 
barbarity  than  has  been  exhibited  in  this  county." 

July  12,  Matthew  Smith  writes  from  Paxton,  (Harrisburg,)  that 
he  had  "just  arrived  at  Harris'  Ferry,  and  beheld  the  greatest  scenes 
of  distress  I  ever  saw.  It  was  crowded  with  people  who  had  come 
down  the  river,  leaving  everything." 

Same  day,  Peter  DeHaven  writes,  from  Hummelstown  :  "  This  day 
there  were  twenty  or  thirty  passed  through  this  town  from  Buffalo 
Valley  and  Sunbury,  and  the  people  inform  me  that  there  are  two 
hundred  wagons  on  the  road  coming  down.  I  was  at  Mr.  Elder's 
meeting  to-day,  and  Colonel  Clark  and  Colonel  Rodgers  made  an 
appeal  to  the  inhabitants  to  turn  out  one  hundred  volunteers,"  &c. 

A  letter  written  by  William  Maclay,  from  Paxton,  on  the  12th, 
gives  a  very  graphic  picture  of  the  distress.  "  I  left  Sunbury,  and 
almost  my  whole  property,  on  Wednesday  last.  I  will  not  trouble 
you  with  a  recital  of  the  inconveniences  I  suffered  while  I  brought 
my  family,  by  water,  to  this  place.  I  never  in  my  life  saw  such 
scenes  of  distress.  The  river  and  the  roads  leading  down  it  were 
covered  with  men,  women,  and  children,  flying  for  their  lives.  In 
short,  Northumberland  county  is  broken  up.  Colonel  Hunter  only 
remained,  using  his  utmost  endeavors  to  rally  the  inhabitants  to  make 
a  stand.  I  left  him  with  few.  I  cannot  speak  confidently  as  to 
numbers,  but  he  had  not  a  hundred  men  on  whom  he  could  depend. 
Mrs.  Hunter  came  down  with  me.  As  he  is  now  disencumbered  of 
his  family,  I  am  convinced  that  he  will  do  everything  that  can  be 
expected  from  a  brave  and  determined  man.  It  was  to  no  purpose, 
Colonel  Hunter  issued  orders  for  the  assembling  of  the  militia.  The 
whole  county  broke  loose.  Something,  in  the  way  of  charity,  ought 
to  be  done  for  the  many  miserable  objects  that  crowd  the  banks  of 
this  river,  especially  those  who  fled  from  Wyoming.  You  know  I 
did  not  use  to  love  them,  but  I  now  pity  their  distress." 

(Plunket  and  Maclay  were  the  leading  land  proprietors  who  were 
aff"ected  by  the  Connecticut  claim.) 


i-j6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1778. 

Colonel  Hunter,  in  another  letter,  dated  later  in  the  day  of  the 
1 2th,  says :  "The  towns  of  Sunbury  and  Northumberland  are  the  fron- 
tiers, where  a  few  virtuous  inhabitants  and  fugitives  seem  determined 
to  stand,  though  doubtful  whether  to-morrow's  sun  shall  rise  on  them 
freemen,  captives,  or  in  eternity  !" 

A  letter  dated  Lancaster,  14th  July,  from  Bertram  Galbraith, 
says:  "  On  Sunday  morning  last,  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna, 
from  Middletown  up  to  the  Blue  mountain,  were  entirely  clad  with 
the  inhabitants  of  Northumberland  county,  who  had  moved  off,  as 
well  as  many  in  the  river  in  boats,  canoes,  and  on  rafts.  This  I 
had  from  Captain  Abraham  Scott,  a  man  of  veracity,  who  was  up  at 
Garber's  mills  for  his  sister,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Samuel  Hunter, 
and  spake  with  a  lieutenant,  who  was  in  the  action  at  Wyoming. 
He  also  seen  six  of  the  wounded  men  brought  down." 

Robert  Covenhoven,  (Crownover,)  describing  the  scene  nearer 
home,  says  :  "I  took  my  own  family  safely  to  Sunbury,  and  came 
back  in  a  keel-boat  to  secure  my  furniture.  Just  as  I  rounded  a 
point  above  Derrstown,  now  Lewisburg,  I  met  the  whole  convoy 
from  all  the  forts  above.  Such  a  sight  I  never  saw  in  my  life. 
Boats,  canoes,  hog-troughs,  rafts  hastily  made  of  dry  sticks,  every 
sort  of  floating  article,  had  been  put  in  requisition,  and  were 
crowded  with  women,  children,  and  plunder.  There  were  several 
hundred  people  in  all.  Whenever  any  obstruction  occurred  at  any 
shoal  or  ripple,  the  women  would  leap  out  into  the  water  and  put 
their  shoulders  to  the  boat  or  raft  and  launch  it  again  into  deep 
water.  The  men  of  the  settlement  came  down  in  single  file,  on 
each  side  of  the  river,  to  guard  the  women  and  children.  The 
whole  convoy  arrived  safely  at  Sunbury,  leaving  the  entire  range  of 
farms  along  the  West  Branch  to  the  ravages  of  the  Indians." 

At  this  time  occurred  the  death  of  John  Michael  Bashor.  Mi- 
chael Weyland,  who  survived  many  years  afterwards,  often  related 
the  story  to  my  informant.  He  said  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  Great 
Runaway ;  and  as  Bashor's  name  is  dropped  from  the  assessment  of 
1778,  it,  no  doubt,  occurred  in  the  first  week  in  July,  1778.  I  can 
find  no  allusion  in  the  Archives,  or  in  any  other  written  record,  to 
the  event,  which  is  to  be  accounted  for  from  the  confusion  occur- 
ring at  that  time.  Bashor  came  to  the  Valley  in  1774,  and  in  June 
of  that  year  purchased  a  part  of  the  "Jacob  Rees'  "  tract,  near 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  157 

New  Columbia,  of  Hawkins  Boone.  In  April,  1777,  he  sold  it 
again  to  Richard  Irwin,  and  moved  down  upon  the  place  of  his 
father-in-law,  Peter  Swartz,  senior,  who  owned  the  land  from  Doc- 
tor Dougal's  nearly  up  to  John  Datisman's.  Weyland  said,  him- 
self and  another  person  pushed  a  boat  over  from  the  east  side  and 
took  up  Bashor's  goods,  and  then  pushed  out  into  the  river.  Bashor 
went  to  the  stable  and  got  a  horse,  and  attempted  to  drive  some 
cattle  down  along  the  shore.  When  he  got  down  to  the  bluff  that 
comes  out  to  the  river,  at  the  present  limekiln  of  Honorable  George 
F.  Miller,  just  by  a  red  oak,  that  was  still  standing  a  few  years  since, 
he  was  fired  upon  by  some  Indians  in  ambush  and  killed.  Wey- 
land and  his  comrade,  who  were  lying  down  in  the  boat,  rose  to 
fire,  and  Weyland  was  struck  on  the  lip  with  a  spent  ball,  the  mark 
of  which  he  carried  to  his  grave.  He  said  Bashor  was  buried  on 
the  river  bank.  I.  D.  Rupp,  who  is  a  descendant  of  the  Bashor 
family,  wrote  me  that  the  bloody  clothes  of  John  Bashor  were  still 
preserved  in  the  garret  of  his  grandfather's  house,  in  Bethel  town- 
ship, Berks  county,  as  late  as  1820;  and  that  he  talked  with  a 
brother  of  John  Bashor,  who  said  he  recollected  of  his  brother's 
corpse  being  brought  home.  He  said,  also,  his  uncle,  Martin 
Bashor,  who  used  to  live  near  McKee's  Half-Falls,  told  him  that 
John  was  killed  near  Georgetown,  and  a  man  named  Reedy  was  in 
company  with  him.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake.  It  shows  how 
uncertain,  as  to  dates  and  places,  tradition  is. 

John  Bashor's  daughter,  Catherine,  married  Jacob  Wolfe,  son  of 
George  Wolfe,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  our  Valley.  Her  children 
were  Samuel  Wolfe,  late  of  Lewisburg,  Michael,  Jacob,  and  Jona- 
than, still  living  at  Lewisburg. 

Albert  Pohlhemus  and  wife,  driven  off  from  Muncy,  both  died 
at  Northumberland.  They  left  seven  small  children,  who  became 
charges  upon  the  public.  One  of  them  was  bound  to  Elias  Younk- 
man ;  some  to  William  Thompson.  Court  ordered  them  to  be 
brought  up  in  the  Presbyterian  form  of  worship. 

Paul  Fisher  (of  Slifer)  tells  me  that  at  the  time  Bashor  was  killed, 
his  grandfather,  John  Fisher,  lived  at  Esquire  Datisman's.  The  In- 
dians burned  Peter  Swartz's  house,  and  killed  a  man  named  Ayres, 
near  White  Deer  creek.  His  grandfather,  with  his  two  sisters,  con- 
cealed themselves  in  the  straw  in  their  barn,  and  expected  every  mo- 


1^8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1778. 

ment  to  be  burned  up  in  it;  but  the  Indians  went  into  Hoffman's 
house,  just  above,  and  carried  out  a  good  many  articles,  among  the  rest 
a  clock.  They  seated  themselves  to  examine  the  clock,  when  Aaron 
Norcross,  John  Fisher,  junior,  and  others  who  had  gathered,  hallooed 
and  startled  them  off,  leaving  their  plunder.  This  old  clock  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  Jacob  Hoffman,  living  up  near  the  Muncy  hills. 

David  Quinn,  Esquire,  of  Chicago,  grandson  of  Terrence  Quinn, 
has  furnished  me  with  an  interesting  incident  of  this  attack  of  the 
Indians  in  Dry  valley.  He  says,  "my  great  grandfather  Corinnius 
Michael,  an  old  soldier  of  the  days  of  Frederick  the  Great,  emi- 
grated to  America,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  brought  with  him 
two  daughters.  What  became  of  the  youngest,  after  her  arrival,  for 
some  time,  is  now  unknown ;  but  the  oldest,  Mary,  was  sold  for  a 
term  of  years,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  to  pay  her  passage 
over.  While  residing  with  the  family  that  purchased  her  in  Lancas- 
ter, Pennsylvania,  my  grandfather,  Terrence  Quinn,  formed  her 
acquaintance,  purchased  her  unexpired  time,  and  married  her.  In 
1778,  they  had  four  little  children,  and  the  other  sister,  unmarried, 
was  living  with  them.  The  night  the  Indians  entered  the  Valley, 
the  news  was  spread  through  a  system  of  alarms  previously  arranged ; 
and  those  who  received  warning,  fled  precipitately.  My  grandfather 
and  family  ran  in  one  direction,  and  my  grandaunt  in  another. 

"  They  were  thus  separated,  and  continued  separated  for  fifty-two 
years,  each  one  supposing  the  other  had  been  tomahawked.  At  the 
end  of  this  long  period,  one  of  my  grandmother's  neighbors,  whose 
name  I  have  forgotten,  was  traveling  in  the  Mahanoy  valley,  at  a 
time  when  the  stream  was  so  swollen  that  she  was  compelled  to  stop  I 
at  a  farm  house  for  shelter.  While  here,  she  fell  into  conversation 
about  friends  and  relatives  with  an  old  woman,  who  proved  to  be 
the  grandmother  of  the  house  full  of  children,  and  the  mother  of 
John  Lechman,  the  proprietor  of  the  premises.  The  old  lady  re- 
lated the  story  of  her  kindred,  and  among  other  things  remarked, 
that  she  once  had  a  sister,  but  she  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians, 
in  a  place  called  Dry  valley,  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  A  little 
more  conversation  developed  who  she  was,  and  the  joyful  informa- 
tion, that  her  visitor  was  a  neiglibor  of  her  sister,  and  she  was  still 
alive,  and  lived  on  Turtle  creek,  near  Lewisburg.  The  traveler  re- 
turned, and  told  her  story.    Before  the  sun  had  risen  over  Montour's 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  isg 

ridge  the  next  morning,  Mary  Quinn,  though  in  her  ninetieth  year, 
was  on  her  way  to  see  her  long  lost  sister.  They  met,  but  not  as 
they  parted.  Each  frame,  now  bent  with  the  weight  of  years,  em- 
braced its  kindred,  long  mourned  as  dead.  Such  a  meeting,  who 
can  describe?  The  sacred  pensman  of  the  history  of  Joseph,  alone. 
It  was  their  final  meeting,  too;  but  they  are  now  where  there  are 
no  partings." 

(1872.)  Philip  Seebold  told  me  he  ot'ten  heard  old  Mrs.  Fought 
tell  of  this  raid.  She  said,  they  were  threshing  flax  on  their  place, 
where  the  road  through  Chappel's  Hollow  comes  out  into  Dry  val- 
ley, when  the  Indians  came  upon  them  suddenly.  Her  baby  was 
near  her,  and  she  picked  it  up  and  ran.  Another  child,  that  could 
just  run  about,  was  back  of  their  little  barn.  She  heard  it  call,  "  O 
mother,  take  me  along,  too."  She  looked  around,  and  the  Indians 
were  close  upon  her.  She  ran  the  whole  way,  two  miles,  to  Penn's 
creek,  to  a  house  where  the  neighbors  had  gathered.  She  never 
heard  of  her  child  again;  but  as  there  was  no  indication  that  it  was 
killed,  she  hoped  for  its  return  some  day.  At  night  and  in  the  quiet 
hours  of  the  day,  the  last  words  of  her  child,  "  O  mother,  take  me 
along,  too,"  she  said,  rang  in  her  ears,  long  years  after. 

She  said  the  house  they  took  refuge  in,  was  surrounded  by  the 

Indians.     They  suffered  from  thirst,  and  a  man  named  Peter 

said  he  would  have  water,  if  he  died  for  it.  They  allowed  him  to  go 
out,  and  as  he  turned  the  corner  of  the  house,  a  rifle  cracked,  and 
he  fell  dead.  The  next  day  the  Indians  withdrew,  and  they  em- 
barked in  canoes,  and  went  down  Penn's  creek.  On  the  Isle  of  Que, 
she  said,  she  went  into  a  house,  and  found  no  one  about.  A  baby 
sat  propped  up  in  a  cradle.  On  close  inspection,  she  found  it  was 
dead,  and  the  marks  of  the  tomahawk. 

Incidents  of  the  Battle  of  Monmouth. 

Captain  William  Wilson  Potter,  of  Bellefonte,  has  the  flag  of  the 
Royal  Grenadiers,  captured  on  the  field  of  Monmouth,  by  his  (ma- 
ternal) grandfather,  the  late  Judge  William  Wilson,  of  Chillisquaque 
Mills,  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania. 

The  ground  or  main  surface  is  lemon,  or  light  yellow,  heavy 
corded  silk ;  five  feet  four  inches  by  four  feet  eight ;  corresponding, 


ibo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1778. 

in  proportions,  with  the  flag  of  the  seventh  regiment,  surrendered, 
among  others,  by  Cornwallis,  at  Yorktown,  and  presented,  by  order 
of  Congress,  .to  General  Washington,  lately  in  the  museum  at  Alex- 
andria, Virginia,  but  eight  inches  less  in  size ;  the  latter  being  six 
feet  long,  and  five  feet  four  inches  wide. 

The  device  at  the  upper  right  corner  is  twenty  inches  square, 
and  is  that  of  the  English  Union,  which  distinguishes  the  Royal 
standard  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  composed  of  the  Cross  of  Saint 
George,  to  denote  England,  and  Saint  Andrew's  Cross,  in  the  form 
of  an  X,  to  denote  Scotland.  This  device  was  placed  in  the  corner 
of  the  Royal  flag,  after  the  accession  of  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland 
to  the  throne  of  England,  as  James  the  First.  The  field  of  the  device 
is  blue,  the  central  stripes  (Cross  of  Saint  George)  red,  the  marginal 
ones  white.  It  wants  the  Crown  and  Garter,  and  full  blown  rose  in 
the  centre,  of  the  Alexandria  flag. 

The  flag  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  wrenched  from  the 
staff,  and  has  a  few  old  dust  marks  on  the  device  ;  otherwise  it  looks 
as  bright  and  new  as  if  it  had  just  come  from  the  gentle  fingers  that 
made  it,  although  ninety-nine  years  have  rolled  away  since  its  golden 
folds  drooped  in  the  sultry  air  of  that  June-day  battle. 

The  battle  of  Monmouth  occurred  on  the  28th  of  June,  1778  ;  a 
fearfully  hot  day,  evinced  by  the  fact  that  fifty-nine  of  the  British 
soldiers  died  of  heat,  without  receiving  a  wound.  This  flag  was  cap- 
tured near  the  old  parsonage  of  the  Freehold,  New  Jersey,  church, 
where  the  hottest  of  the  fighting  was.  A  short  description  of  that 
portion  of  the  engagement  will  interest  many  : 

After  General  Lee's  retreat  was  checked  by  General  Washington, 
in  person,  the  latter  formed  a  new  line  for  his  advanced  troops,  and 
put  Lee  again  in  command.  General  Washington  then  rode  back  to 
the  main  body,  and  formed  it  on  an  eminence,  with  a  road  in  the 
rear  and  a  morass  in  the  front.  The  left  was  commanded  by  Lord 
Stirling,  with  a  detachment  of  artillery;  Lafayette,  with  Wayne, 
was  posted  in  the  center,  partly  in  an  orchard,  and  partly  sheltered 
by  a  barn  ;  General  Greene  was  on  the  right,  with  his  artillery,  under 
General  Knox,  posted  on  commanding  ground.  General  Lee  main- 
tained his  advanced  position  as  long  as  he  could,  himself  coming  off 
with  his  rear  across  a  road,  which  traversed  the  morass  in  front  of 
Stirling's  troops.     The  British  followed  sharp,  and,  meeting  with  a 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  i6i 

warm  reception,  endeavored  to  turn  the  left  flank,  but  were  driven 
back.  They  then  tried  the  right,  but  were  met  by  General  Greene's 
forces,  and  heavy  discharges  from  Knox's  artillery,  which  not  only 
checked  them,  but  raked  the  whole  length  of  the  columns  in  front 
of  the  left  wang.  Then  came  a  determined  effort  to  break  the  cen- 
ter, maintained  by  General  Wayne  and  the  Pennsylvania  regiments, 
and  the  Royal  Grenadiers,  the  flower  of  the  British  army,  were 
ordered  to  do  it.  They  advanced  several  times,  crossing  a  hedge 
row  in  front  of  the  morass,  and  were  driven  back.  Colonel  Monck- 
ton,  their  commander,  then  made  a  speech  to  his  men,  (the  troops 
at  the  parsonage  and  those  in  the  orchard  heard  his  ringing  voice 
above  the  storm  of  the  battle,)  and,  forming  the  Grenadiers  in  solid 
column,  advanced  to  the  charge  like  troops  on  parade,  the  men 
marching  with  such  precision  that  a  ball  from  Comb's  hill,  enfilading 
a  platoon,  disarmed  every  man. 

Wayne  ordered  his  men  to  reserve  their  fire,  and  the  British  came 
on  in  silence  within  a  few  rods,  when  Monckton  waived  his  sword 
above  his  head,  and  ordered  his  Grenadiers  to  charge ;  simultane- 
ously, Wayne  ordered  his  men  to  fire,  and  a  terrible  volley  laid  low 
the  front  ranks,  and  most  of  the  ofificers.  The  colors  were  in  ad- 
vance, to  the  right,  with  the  colonel,  and  they  went  down  with  him. 
Captain  Wilson  and  his  company,  who  were  on  the  right  of  the 
first  Pennsylvania,  made  a  rush  for  the  colors  and  the  body  of  the 
colonel.  The  Grenadiers  fought  desperately,  and  a  hand  to  hand 
struggle  ensued,  but  the  Pennsylvanians  secured  his  body  and  the 
colors.  The  Grenadiers  gave  way,  the  whole  British  army  fell  back 
to  Lee's  position  in  the  morning,  and  decamped  so  quietly  in  the 
night  that  General  Poor,  who  laid  near  them,  with  orders  to  re- 
commence the  battle  in  the  morning,  was  not  aware  of  their  de- 
parture. 

Colonel  Monckton  was  a  gallant  officer.  He  had  been  lieuenant 
colonel  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  where  he  was  shot  through  the 
body,  but  recovered.  He  was  buried,  the  day  after  the  battle,  in 
the  Freehold  church- yard,  about  six  feet  from  the  west  end  of  the 
building.  The  only  monument  that  marks  his  grave  is  a  plain 
board,  painted  red,  upon  which  is  painted  in  black  letters,  "Hie 
Jacet,  Col.  Monckton,  killed  28th  June,  1778.  W.  R.  W."  By  a 
note-worthy  coincidence  in  name,  this  board  was  prepared  and  set 
11 


ib2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1778. 


up  by  a  Scotch  school-master,  named  Wilson,  who  taught  the 
young  people  in  the  school-house  near  the  old  meeting-house. 

Chappel's  painting  of  this  battle  represents  the  scene  as  Monck- 
ton  fell,  and  the  fearful  hand  to  hand  fight  over  his  body ;  and  the 
little  old-fashioned  sword  looks  as  if  it  might  have  been  painted 
from  the  original,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Abram  S.  Wilson, 
of  Lewistown,  Pennsylvania.  On  the  left  is  the  old  parsonage.  Be- 
yond it  the  morass,  (now,  1872,  good  meadow  land  with  a  fine  stream 
of  water  running  through  it,)  extending  right  and  left.  On  the  right 
is  the  rising  ground  from  which  the  Grenadiers  made  their  charge. 

The  sword  had  many  adventures,  and  never  got  back  to  its 
captor  in  his  Ufe  time.  (Judge  Wilson  died  in  18 13,  and  is  buried 
in  the  Presbyterian  church -yard,  in  Northumberland.  He  was  as- 
sociate judge  of  Northumberland,  from  1792  until  his  death,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  the  late  Honorable  Andrew  Albright.)  Captain 
Wilson  gave  it  to  General  Wayne,  who  presented  it  to  General  La- 
fayette, who  took  it  with  him  to  Europe,  retained  it  all  through 
the  upheavals  and  riots  of  the  French  revolution,  his  captivity  in  a 
dungeon  at  Olmutz,  and  brought  it  with  him  to  America  in  1824, 
when  he  visited  America,  upon  the  invitation  of  the  United  States 
Government.  It  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  his  thoughfulness  that, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century,  he  desired  to  restore  it  in 
person  to  Captain  Wilson.  He  made  inquiries  in  Philadelphia  for 
him,  and  not  being  able  to  hear  anything  of  him,  he  left  it  with 
old  Captain  Hunter,  with  express  directions  to  restore  it  to  Cap- 
tain Wilson,  or  if  dead,  to  some  of  his  family.  After  some  years 
Captain  Hunter,  found  out  through  Mrs.  Billington,  of  Sunbury, 
that  Judge  A.  S.  Wilson  was  a  son  of  Captain  Wilson,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  delivering  the  sword  to  the  judge,  the  next  time  he 
went  to  Philadelphia. 

The  flag  was  always  in  the  possession  of  Judge  Wilson,  senior, 
and  his  family.  I  can  recollect  well,  at  least  thirty-five  years  ago, 
when  his  son  William  used  to  display  it  on  the  4th  of  July,  at 
Lewisburg  and  Milton,  make  a  speech  about  it,  and  then  have  a 
salute  fired  from  sheriff  Brady's  cannon,  brought  from  Fort  Free- 
land. 

Mrs.  John  B.  Linn,  of  Bellefonte,  has  a  very  fine  oil  portrait  of 
her  grandfather.  Captain  William  Wilson,  taken  sixty  or  seventy 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  163 

years  ago,  pronounced  by  aged  people  about  Northumberland  an 
excellent  likeness. 

On  the  1 6th  of  July,  Colonel  Brodhead's  regmient,  on  its  way 
to  Fort  Pitt,  was  ordered  to  the  West  Branch;  part  of  Colonel 
Hartley's  regiment  was  on  its  way  to  Sunbury,  and  the  militia 
were  ordered  up  from  Lancaster  and  Berks,  and  the  people  came 
back  to  reap  their  crops.  July  24th,  Colonel  Brodhead,  then  at 
Muncy,  detached  a  captain  and  twenty-four  men  into  Penn's  val- 
ley to  protect  the  reapers  at  General  Potter's  place.  General  Pot- 
ter writes  from  Penn's  valley,  on  the  25th,  that  "  the  inliabitants  of 
the  valley  are  returned,  and  were  cutting  their  grain.  He  left  Sun- 
bury  last  Sunday  afternoon,  and  the  people  were  returning  to  all 
parts  of  the  county.  Yesterday,  two  men  of  Captain  Finley's  com- 
pany, of  Colonel  Brodhead's  regiment,  went  out  from  this  place 
on  the  plains  a  little  below  my  fields,  and  met  a  party  of  Indians, 
five  in  number,  whom  they  engaged.  One  of  the  soldiers,  Thomas 
Van  Doran,  was  shot  dead ;  the  other,  Jacob  Shedacre,  ran  about 
four  hundred  yards,  and  was  pursued  by  one  of  the  Indians.  They 
attacked  each  other  with  their  knives,  and  our  excellent  soldier 
killed  his  antagonist.  His  fate  was  hard,  for  another  Indian  came 
up  and  shot  him.  He  and  the  Indian  lay  within  a  perch  of  each 
other.  These  two  soldiers  served  with  Colonel  Morgan  in  the  last 
campaign."  James  Alexander,  who,  in  after  years,  farmed  the  Old 
Fort  farms,  near  Centre  Hall,  casually  kicked  up  a  hunting  knife, 
so  rusted  as  to  indicate  that  it  might  have  belonged  either  to  the 
Indian  or  the  soldier  killed.  Two  stones  were  put  up  to  mark  the 
spot  on  William  Henning's  place,  near  Old  Fort. 

August  I,  Colonel  Hartley  was  in  command  at  Sunbury,  with  his 
regulars  and  two  hundred  militia.  On  the  8th  he  was  at  Muncy, 
Colonel  Brodhead's  regiment  having  resumed  its  march  to  Fort 
Pitt.  Lieutenant  Samuel  Brady  belonged  to  this  regiment — the 
eighth — in  which  he  was  appointed  Captain  July  28,  1780. 

Sunbury,  August  i.  General  Potter  writes:  "I  came  here  last 
week  to  station  the  militia.  I  found  General  deHaas  here,  who 
said  he  commanded  all  the  troops.  The  next  day  Colonel  Hartley 
came  and  showed  me  his  orders  to  command  the  troops,  and  po- 
litely requested  me  to  take  the  command,  which  I  declined,  as  I 
never  was  very  fond  of  command,  and  this  is  a  disagreeable  one. 


i64  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1778. 


I  rather  chose  to  act  as  a  private  gentleman,  and  do  all  the  good  in 
my  power;  but  people  will  make  observations." 

August  8,  James  Brady  was  killed  above  Loyal  Sock.  Colonel 
Hartley  relates  the  circumstance  as  follows  :  A  corporal  and  four 
men  of  his  regiment,  with  three  militia,  were  ordered  to  guard  four- 
teen reapers  and  cradlers  who  went  to  cut  the  grain  of  Peter  Smith, 
who  had  his  wife  ^  and  four  children  killed  by  the  Indians.  On 
Friday  they  cut  the  greater  part,  and  intended  to  complete  the  work 
next  morning.  Four  of  the  reapers  improperly  moved  off  that 
night.  The  rest  went  to  work — the  cradlers,  four  in  number,  by 
themselves,  near  the  house ;  the  reapers  somewhat  distant.  The 
reapers,  except  Brady,  placed  their  guns  around  a  tree.  Brady 
thought  this  wrong,  and  put  his  at  some  distance  from  the  rest. 
The  morning  was  very  foggy,  and  an  hour  after  sunrise  the  sentry 
and  reapers  were  surprised  by  a  number  of  Indians,  under  cover  of 
the  fog.  The  sentry  retired  towards  the  reapers,  and  they  in  turn 
fell  back.  Brady  ran  towards  his  rifle,  and  was  pursued  by  three 
Indians,  and,  within  a  few  rods  of  it,  was  wounded.  He  ran  for 
some  distance,  and  then  fell.  He  received  another  wound  with  a 
spear,  and  was  tomahawked  and  scalped  in  an  instant.  The  sentry 
fired,  but  was  shot  down,  as  also  a  militia-man.  Young  Brady, 
who  is  an  exceeding  fine  young  fellow,  soon  after,  rose  and  came 
to  the  house.  Jerome  Vanness  ventured  to  remain  with  him;  the 
others  fled.  There  were  thirty  Indians,  supposed  to  be  Mingoes. 
Brady  wanted  Vanness  to  leave  him,  but  he  would  not  do  it.  He 
assisted  him  to  the  river,  where  he  drank  a  great  deal  of  water. 
Captain  Walker  and  a  party  came  up  from  the  fort  at  Muncy. 
When  they  approached,  Brady,  supposing  them  to  be  Indians, 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  cocked  his  gun.  They  made  a  bier  and  car- 
ried him  to  Sunbury,  where  his  mother  then  was.  Robert  Coven- 
hoven  was  one  of  the  party.  On  the  way  he  became  delirious,  and 
drank  large  quantities  of  water.  It  was  late  at  night  when  they  got 
there,  and  they  did  not  intend  to  arouse  his  mother.  But  she  had 
fears  that  sometliiiig  had  happened,  and  met  them  at  the  river.  He 
was  a  fearful  looking  object,  and  the  meeting  with  his  mother  was 
heart-rending.  He  lived  five  days,  the  first  four  being  delirious ; 
but  on  the  fifth  his  reason  returned,  and  he  related  the  whole  cir- 

1  Peter  Smith's  farm  was  on  Turkey  run,  across  the  river  from  Williamsport. 


1778.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  165 

cumstance  distinctly.  He  said  Bald  Eagle  belonged  to  the  party, 
who  was  afterwards  killed  by  Captain  Samuel  Brady,  on  the  Alle- 
gheny. James  Brady  was  buried  at  Fort  Augusta,  but  his  grave 
has,  with  that  of  many  others,  been  long  since  plowed  over. 

August  8,  the  justices  of  the  court,  through  Thomond  Ball,  deputy 
prothonotary,  notify  the  president  of  the  State  Council  that  busi- 
ness is  much  impeded  for  want  of  an  attorney  to  prosecute  for  the 
Commonwealth ;  that  it  was  the  second  court  at  which  no  State 
attorney  had  appeared,  and  many  persons  had  to  be  admitted  to 
bail;  that  the  long  suspension  of  justice,  from  Februgiry,  1776,  to 
November,  1777,  had  rendered  the  people  licentious  enough,  and  a 
further  delay  of  executing  the  laws  must  lead  them  to  lengths  too 
difficult  to  be  recalled  ;  tippling-house  keepers,  the  notorious  pro- 
moters of  vice  and  immorality,  remained  unpunished,  though  fre- 
quently returned,  for  want  of  an  indictment ;  that  there  were  two 
prisoners  for  murder,  one  was  admitted  to  bail  and  the  other  in 
close  confinement,  who  should  be  brought  to  trial.  In  August,  bill 
found  against  Isaac  Webb  for  misprision  of  treason. 

September  i,  Captain  John  Brady  returned  to  the  army. 
,  2ist  September.  As  some  of  our  settlers  took  a  very  prominent 
part  in  Colonel  Hartley's  expedition,  it  is  worthy  of  a  short  sketch. 
It  left  Muncy  on  the  21st,  two  hundred  rank  and  file  strong,  at  four, 
A.  M.,  with  twelve  days  provisions.  Great  rains,  swamps,  mount- 
ains, and  defiles  impeded  the  march.  They  waded  or  swam  the 
Lycoming  creek  twenty  times.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  the 
advance  party  of  nineteen  men  met  an  equal  number  of  Indians. 
Our  people  had  the  first  fire,  and  an  important  Indian  chief  was 
killed  and  scalped ;  the  rest  fled.  A  few  miles  further,  they  came 
upon  a  camp  where  seventy  Indians  lay  the  night  before.  These 
also  fled.  They  then  pressed  on  to  Tioga,  now  Athens,  Bradford 
county.  They  burned  Tioga,  Queen  Esther's  palace  and  town. 
On  the  28th,  they  crossed  the  river  and  marched  towards  Wyalu- 
sing,  where  they  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  that  night.  Here  seventy 
of  the  men  took  to  the  canoes  and  the  rest  marched  by  land.  Lieut. 
Sweeney  commanded  the  rear  guard  of  thirty  men,  besides  five 
scouts  under  Captain  Campleton.  The  advance  guard  consisted  of 
an  officer  and  fifteen  men.  At  two  o'clock,  a  heavy  attack  was 
made  on  the  rear,  which  gave  way.     At  this  critical  moment  Cap- 


j66  annals  of  buffalo  valley.  [1778. 

tains  Boone  and  Brady,  and  Lieutenant  King,  with  a  few  brave  fel- 
lows, landed  from  the  canoes,  joined  Sweeney,  and  renewed  the 
action.  They  advanced  on  the  enemy  on  all  sides,  with  great  noise 
and  shouting,  when  the  Indians  fled,  leaving  their  dead,  (ten.) 
The  expedition  arrived  at  Sunbury  on  the  5  th  of  October,  having 
performed  a  circuit  of  three  hundred  miles,  and  brought  off  fifty 
head  of  cattle,  twenty-eight  canoes,  &c. 

November  9,  Colonel  Hartley  writes  from  Sunbury  that  the 
enemy  had  come  down  and  invested  Wyoming,  and  destroyed  the 
settlements  on  the  North  Branch  as  far  as  Nescopeck.  About 
seventy  Indians  were  seen  twenty-two  miles  from  here  yesterday, 
advancing  towards  the  forks  of  the  Chillisquaque  creek.  They  took 
some  prisoners  yesterday. 

14th,  he  writes  from  Fort  Jenkins  that  he  is  advancing  towards 
Wyoming. 

December  4,  John  Macpherson  bought  the  Andrew  Gibson  place 
and  ferry,  now  Cauley's,  Winfield. 

In  the  fall  of  1778,  as  a  party  of  settlers  were  leaving  Fort  Free- 
land,  they  were  fired  at,  and  Mrs.  Durham's  infant  was  killed  in  her 
arms.  They  scalped  her,  and  when  the  men  came  there,  she  raised 
up  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  Elias  Williams  ran  to  the  river 
and  brought  his  hat  full.  They  put  her  in  a  canoe  and  took  her  to 
Northumberland,  where  Dr.  Plunket  dressed  her  wounds,  and  she 
lived  for  fifty  years  afterwards.  She  is  buried  in  the  Warrior  Run 
grave-yard. 

The  mill  of  Samuel  Fisher,  who  resided  on  what  is  now  Kaufman 
furnace  tract,  was  burned  this  fall,  it  was  said,  by  some  settlers,  to 
get  nails,  the  place  having  been  abandoned.  In  a  letter,  in  Decem- 
ber, Colonel  Hunter  expresses  great  regret  at  Colonel  Hartley's 
departure.  He  says  he  made  the  very  best  possible  use  of  his  troops. 
He  complains  of  the  forestallers  of  grain,  whom  he  looks  upon  as 
worse  than  savages,  for  raising  the  price  of  grain  upon  the  people. 

December  i,  Joseph  Reed  elected  President  of  the  State,  Cham- 
bers, Dale,  and  Himrod  voting  for  him. 


i^^9- 


Death  of  Captain  John  Brady — Indian  Outragks  in  the  Valley — John 
Sample  and  Wife  Killed — Capttre  of  Fort  Freeland — Death  of 
Captain  Hawkins  Boone. 

RESIDENT  of  the  State,  Joseph  Reed.  Councillor, 
John  Hambright.  Members  of  Assembly,  Samuel  Dale, 
Robert  Martin,  and  William  Montgomery.  Presiding 
M\  Justice,  Thomas  Hewitt.  Prothonotary,  David  Harris, 
Officers  elected  in  October :  Sheriff,  Major  James  Crawford ;  Cor- 
oner, John  Foster ;  County  Commissioners,  Walter  Clark  and  Wil- 
liam Mackey ;  Assessors,  Albright  Swineford,  Peter  Kester,  William 
Clark,  etc. 

Buffalo  :  Constable,  Joseph  Taveler ;  Supervisors,  Casper  Bower 
and  Alexander  McGrady ;  Overseers,  Ludvvig  Derr  and  James  Mc- 
Celvey. 

White  Deer  :    Constable,   James  Pollock  ;    Supervisors,  Thomas  | 
Leckey  and  James  McClenachan;    Overseers,  Thomas  Hutchinson 
and  Philip  Stover. 

At  February  sessions,  Jacob  Links  was  licensed,  the  first  tavern  in 
Derrstown. 

25th  March,  Joseph  McHarge  made  affidavit  before  the  court, 
that  he,  with  others  of  Colonel  Cooke's  twelfth  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment, was  taken  prisoner  at  Piscataway,  (loth  May,  1777  ;)  that  he 
was  carried  to  New  York,  compelled  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  sent  on  board  the  vessel  that  carried  General  Howe's  baggage  to 
Philadelphia,  whence  he  made  his  escape  in  disguise  ;  that  his  sight 
had  failed  him,  and,  on  account  of  bodily  infirmity,  he  could  not  go 

767 


i68  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1779. 

back  into  service.  The  court  discharged  him.  Some  companies  of 
the  twelfth  were  now  in  General  St.  Clair's  division,  first  brigade. 
St.  Clair  complained  to  the  Council,  which  ordered  Justice  Hewitt 
to  deliver  him  over  to  the  military  authorities. 

nth  April,  Captain  John  Brady  was  killed.  He  was  born  in  the 
State  of  Delaware,  in  1733.  His  father,  Hugh,  an  emigrant  from 
Ireland,  first  settled  in  Delaware,  and  then  removed  to  within  five 
miles  of  Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania.  John  Brady  married  Mary 
Quigley,  and  their  eldest  son,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Shippensburg,  in 
1758.  He  was  a  surveyor  and  pioneer  in  the  settlements,  and  lived 
at  Standing  Stone,  now  Huntingdon,  in  1768,  when  his  son.  Gen- 
eral Hugh,  and  twin  sister,  Jennie,  were  born.  In  1769  he  came 
over  on  the  West  Branch,  and  settled  on  what  is  still  the  property  of 
Honorable  George  Kremer's  heirs,  opposite  Strohecker's  landing, 
below  Lewisburg,  where  he  resided  until  the  fall  of  1776,  when  he 
removed  to  a  place  a  little  above  Muncy,  and  built  upon  it.  Octo- 
ber 14,  1776,  he  was  appointed  captain  in  the  twelfth  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  wounded  severely  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine. 

I  copy  McCabe's  account,  published  many  years  ago  in  the  Blairs- 
ville  (Indiana  county)  Record.  For  General  Hugh  Brady's  account, 
see  1783.  McCabe,  no  doubt,  received  his  version  from  William  P. 
Brady,  senior : 

"  It  became  necessary  to  go  up  the  river  some  distance  to  procure 
supplies  for  the  fort,  and  Captain  John  Brady,  taking  with  him  a 
wagon  team  and  guard,  went  himself,  and  procured  what  could  be 
had.  On  his  return  in  the  afternoon,  riding  a  fine  mare,  and  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  fort,  where  the  road  I'orked,  and  being  some 
distance  behind  the  team  and  guard,  and  in  conversation  with  a  man 
named  Peter  Smith,  he  recommended  Smith  not  to  take  the  road  the 
wagon  had,  but  the  other,  as  it  was  shorter.  They  traveled  on  to- 
gether, until  they  came  near  a  run  where  the  same  road  joined. 
Brady  observed,  '  This  would  be  a  good  place  for  Indians  to  secrete 
themselves.'  Smith  said,  '  Yes.'  That  instant  three  rifles  cracked, 
and  Brady  fell.  The  mare  ran  past  Smith,  who  threw  himself  on 
her,  and  was  carried  in  a  few  seconds  to  the  fort.  The  people  in  the 
fort  heard  the  rifles,  and,  seeing  Smith  on  the  mare,  coming  at  full 
speed,  all  ran  to  ask  for  Captain  Brady,  his  wife  along,  or  rather 
before  the  rest.     Smith  replied,  '  In  heaven  or  hell,  or  on  his  way 


1779.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  i6g 

to  Tioga  ;'  meaning  he  was  either  dead  or  a  prisoner  to  the  Indians. 
Those  in  the  fort  ran  to  the  spot.  They  found  the  Captain  lying  in 
the  road,  his  scalp  taken  off,  his  rifle  gone,  but  the  Indians  were  in 
such  haste  that  they  had  not  taken  either  his  watch  or  his  shot  pouch." 

Jasper  E.  Brady,  Esquire,  told  me,  in  1870,  that  some  thirty  years 
before,  when  General  Hugh  Brady  visited  him  at  Chambersburg, 
some  old  citizen,  in  conversation  with  him,  asked  him  whether  he 
ever  knew  John  Montour.  He  became  very  much  excited,  and 
said,  "Yes,  he  is  the  damned  scoundrel  that  killed  my  father."  I 
am  unable  to  reconcile  this  with  the  fact  that  General  Brady,  in  his 
account  of  his  father's  death,  (postea,  1783,)  says  nothing  about  it. 
Besides,  Heckevvelder's  letter,  the  proper  date  of  which  is  April  28, 
(see  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Appendix,  1790,  page  iii,)  from  Con- 
shocking,  which  was  in  the  lower  part  of  Ohio,  says  that  John  Mon- 
tour had  come  there  from  the  Wyandotte  town,  (now  Sandusky, 
Ohio,)  and  from  a  council  near  Detroit,  where  the  English  commander 
had  ordered  his  arrest  as  a  spy,  and  the  men  had  followed  him  nine 
days.  The  whole  letter  shows  that  he  must  have  been  about  Detroit, 
four  hundred  miles,  as  the  crow  flies,  from  where  Captain  Brady  was 
killed,  on  the  nth  of  April.  Further,  on  the  first  of  July,  as  appears 
by  Colonel  Brodhead's  letter,  ibid.,  page  134,  Captain  Samuel  Brady 
and  John  Montour  had  left  Fort  Pitt  with  a  party  to  capture  Simon 
Girty  and  seven  Mingoes,  who  were  on  a  raid.  He  would  hardly 
have  consorted  with  the  murderer  of  his  father.  Heckewelder,  in 
a  letter  of  30th  of  June,  to  Colonel  Brodhead,  says,  "  John  Montour 
is  to  be  looked  upon  as  without  deceit."  Captain  Brady's  death  is 
not  mentioned  in  any  contemporary  written  record  that  I  have  been 
able  to  find.  It  is  possible  it  was  the  result  of  revenge,  but  most 
likely  it  was  an  attack  by  one  of  the  marauding  parties  that  preceded 
McDonald  and  his  rangers. 

Mishael  Lincoln  (grandfather  of  R.  V.  B.  Lincoln,  Esquire)  said 
he  was  in  the  fort  when  Captain  Brady  was  killed,  and  assisted  in 
carrying  in  his  body.  Captain  Brady  made  surveys  in  Buffalo  and 
White  Deer  valleys.  I  have,  perhaps,  the  only  autograph  of  him  in 
existence,  attached  to  an  old  survey  of  date  1770. 

The  accounts  of  John  Montour  are  conflicting.  Meginness  says 
he  was  wounded  at  Fort  Freeland,  29th  July,  and  died  and  was 
buried  at  Painted  Post  a  few  days  after.     Nevertheless,  he  was  alive 


no  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1779. 

on  the  1 2th  of  December,  1779.     See  Colonel  Brodhead's  letter, 
ibid.,  197. 

Colonel  Kelly  used  to  relate  that  one  of  the  Montours  released 
two  American  prisoners  and  conducted  them  safely  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  Northumberland,  and  the  ungrateful  scoundrels  killed  him 
there ;  and  he  pointed  out  where  he  was  buried,  near  a  clump  of 
trees  that  stood  to  the  left  of  the  road,  a  short  distance  below  what 
is  now  known  as  "  Molly  Bullion's  spring." 

26th  April,  Michael  Lepley,  of  Penn's  township,  aged  41,  killed  at 
Fort  Freeland.  Jacob  Speese,  in  a  certificate  dated  the  26th  of 
June,  1786,  states  that  he  was  stationed  therewith  a  party  of  militia. 
He  was  a  lieutenant  in  command,  and  on  the  request  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Knight,  he  sent  a  guard  of  six  men  to  go  with  him  to  his  plantation, 
a  short  distance  from  the  fort. 

Aaron  K.  Gift,  Esquire,  of  Middleburg,  furnished  me  with  the 
following  narrative  of  this  occurrence,  as  related  by  his  grandfather, 
Jeremiah  Gift,  who  died  at  an  advanced  age,  in  1843.  The  Gift, 
Herrold,  and  Lepley  families  came  to  Middle  Creek  valley  in  the 
year  1771.  John  Adam  Gift,  (great-grandfather  of  A.  K.,)  settled 
on  the  left  bank  of  Middle  creek,  three  miles  west  of  where  Middle- 
burg now  stands ;  owned  and  occupied  the  farm  now  owned  by 
John  H.  Walter.  His  three  sons  were  Jacob,  Anthony,  and  Jere- 
miah. The  militia  were  then  drawn  in  classes.  Jacob  had  been 
drawn,  and  served  a  tour  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  The  lot 
in  1779  fell  upon  John  Adam,  the  father.     Jacob  insisted  on  serving 

in  his  stead.     Michael  Lepley  and Herrold  were  drawn  at  the 

same  time.  They  were  stationed  at  Fort  Freeland,  near  which 
lived  a  family  named  McKnight,  father  and  son.  They  secured  a 
guard  consisting  of  fourteen  persons,  among  whom  were  Jacob  Gift, 
Michael  Lepley,  and  Herrold,  to  go  to  milk  their  cows.  The  cows 
were  driven  into  a  pen,  and  while  milking,  they  were  surprised  by 
a  party  of  thirty  Indians,  who  fired  upon  them.  They  were  so 
completely  surprised,  they  could  make  very  little  resistance.  Lep- 
ley, with  others,  and  old  Mr.  McKnight,  were  killed.  Herrold  ran 
for  the  fort.  As  he  ran  along  a  field  which  sloped  towards  the  fort, 
the  soldiers  in  the  fort  heard  the  report  of  a  rifle,  and  saw  him  fall,  ; 
and  an  Indian  scalp  him.  Jacob  Gift  also  tried  to  make  his  escape, 
but  was  overtaken.     When  the  pursuing   soldiers  came  up,   they 


1779. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  171 

found  evidence  of  a  hard  fight;  the  ground -was  bloody,  his  rifle 
broken  in  pieces,  and  himself  tomahawked  and  scalped.  He  had 
sold  his  life  as  dear  as  possible.  Young  McKnight  was  the  only 
one  who  escaped.  He  jumped  Warrior  run,  and  a  tomahawk  struck 
the  top  rail  of  the  fence  just  after  he  cleared  it.  He  was  the  only 
one  left  to  tell  the  tale.  Upon  Jacob  Gift's  father  the  stroke  fell 
heavy.  He  said,  "  It  was  my  lot  to  go,  but  my  son  went  and  gave 
his  life  for  mine."  Michael  Lepley  left  a  widow,  Mary  A.,  and 
some  children.     She  drew  a  pension  for  many  years  afterwards. 

In  May,  John  Sample  and  wife  were  killed.  The  inhabitants  had 
mostly  left  the  Valley.  The  militia  were  out,  under  Colonel  Kelly. — 
Williajti  Lyon's  letter,  May  13.  This  marauding  party  consisted 
of  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  Indians.  Christian  Van  Gundy,  senior, 
was  one  of  a  party,  with  Henry  Vandyke,  who  went  up  to  bring, 
these  old  people  away.  (They  lived  on  a  farm  lately  owned  by 
Abram  Leib,  near  Ramsay's  school-house,  in  White  Deer,  where 
their  graves  may  still  be  seen.)  Van  Gundy  was  a  sergeant,  and 
had  six  men  in  his  party.  Six  more  were  to  follow  them  the  next 
day.  After  Van  Gundy  got  there,  he  had  slabs  put  up  against  the 
door,  and  water  carried  upon  the  loft.  Afj:er  dark  an  Indian  came 
around  the  house,  barking  like  a  dog,  and  rubbing  against  the  door. 
They  paid  no  attention,  but  lay  down,  and  slept  until  about  three, 
A.  M.,  when  Van  Gundy  got  up,  and  lighted  a  fire.  The  Indians 
then  surrounded  the  house,  and,  mounting  a  log  on  their  shoulders, 
tried  to  beat  in  the  door.  Those  inside  then  fired,  wounding  two, 
whom  they  saw  carried  off.  An  Indian  then  came  around  behind 
the  house,  and  set  it  on  fire.  Van  Gundy  mounted  the  loft,  knocked 
off  some  of  the  roof,  and  put  out  the  fire.  In  this  encounter  he  was 
struck  on  the  leg  by  a  spent  ball,  which  marked  him  for  some  time. 
Another  of  the  party  had  his  side  whiskers  shot  off.  When  daylight 
came  they  put  it  to  vote,  whether  they  should  remain  in  the  house  or 
try  to  get  off.  Two  voted  to  stay,  four  to  go.  On  opening  the  door 
they  found  an  Indian  chief  lying  dead  in  front  of  it.  Van  Gundy 
took  the  Indian's  rifle,  Vandyke  his  powder  horn,  (which  was  still 
in  the  possession  of  John  Vandyke,  in  Illinois,  some  years  ago.) 
The  Indians  came  on  suddenly,  with  loud  yells,  and  the  men  sepa- 
rated. Van  Gundy,  with  his  two  guns,  took  into  a  ravine,  and  tried 
to  get  the  old  people  to  follow  him.     They  refused,  and  followed 


1-2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1779. 

the  young  folks,  one  of  whom,  Adam  Ranck  used  to  say,  was  their 
son.  Van  Gundy  said  he  soon  heard  several  shots.  These  killed 
the  old  people,  who  were  scalped,  and  left  lie. 

The  Indians  followed  them  several  miles.  Van  Gundy  said  he 
never  expected  to  get  out  alive,  but  with  his  two  guns  he  thought  he 
could  kill  two  at  least.  He  made  a  circuit  of  seven  miles,  and  came 
out  at  Derr's  mill.  Colonel  Kelly  pursued  this  party;  he  had  a  dog 
that  could  follow  an  Indian  trail,  and,  coming  pretty  close,  would 
immediately  drop.  On  this  occurring.  Colonel  Kelly  separated  his 
party,  and  they  made  a  circuit.  As  Kelly  glided  very  quietly  through 
the  wood,  he  suddenly  stepped  into  a  hole,  made  by  an  up-rooted 
tree.  Glancing  along  it,  to  his  surprise,  he  saw  five  Indians  sitting 
like  turkeys  on  the  trunk.  He  made  a  hole  through  the  root,  and 
leveled  his  rifle.  Simultaneously  there  was  the  crack  of  rifles  from 
the  opposite  side.  Four  Indians  fell,  and,  notwithstanding  their 
utmost  exertions,  the  fifth  escaped.  This  dog  was  of  great  service  to 
the  colonel.  During  this  summer,  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Valley,  or  at  least  their  families,  had  abandoned  it.  The  men  left 
usually  occupied  their  homes,  had  signals  of  alarm,  upon  which  they 
assembled  at  some  point  agreed  upon.  Colonel  Kelly's  cabin  stood 
in  front  of  the  present  building,  near  the  spring,  at  the  present  road. 
He  was  awakened  one  night  by  the  growls  of  this  dog.  He  had  a 
hole  cut  in  the  door  for  observation,  and,  as  it  was  then  getting  day- 
light, he  could  see  something  moving  among  the  bushes,  at  the  end 
of  an  oak  log,  that  laid  across  Spruce  run.  On  closer  inspection,  he 
discovered  an  Indian.  He  took  aim  at  a  spot  above  the  log,  and, 
when  the  Indian  raised  his  head,  fired.  The  ball  passed  clear  through 
his  head,  killing  him  instantly.  He  buried  him  himself  in  the  little 
lot  by  the  spring,  marking  the  grave  by  a  large  stone,  and  kept  the 
secret  many  years,  not  telling  even  his  nearest  neighbor  or  friend, 
knowing  that  there  was  no  city  of  refuge  to  protect  him  from  the  ven- 
geance of  the  next  of  kin,  an  Indian  law  that  proves  our  common 
origin.  No  time  or  distance  overcame  it.  There  occurred  one  case 
in  the  Valley  of  the  killing  of  an  Indian,  which  was  avenged  many 
years  after,  when  the  settler  had  removed  to  Kentucky.  The  Indian 
was  apprehended,  and  confessed  that  he  had  often  sought  the  opportu- 
nity to  kill  the  man  here,  but  was  as  often  foiled,  and  he  followed  him 
to  Kentucky,  and  dogged  him  many  years  before  it  came.     Colonel 


1779.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  173 

Kelly's  secret  only  leaked  out  a  few  years  before  his  death,  in  1832. 
The  little  patch  by  the  spring  he  preserved  undisturbed,  but  took  a 
notion  about  this  time  to  have  it  cleared  up.  He  had  a  boy,  Isaac 
Bower,  living  with  him  at  the  time,  to  whom  he  promised  a  half 
dollar  to  plow  it.  He  superintended  it,  and  when  Isaac  proposed 
taking  out  a  large  stone  with  the  grub  hoe,  he  told  him  to  let  it 
alone,  and  plow  around  it.  This  aroused  Isaac's  curiosity,  and  the 
next  time  they  had  big  meeting  at  Buffalo,  and  the  colonel  and  all  his 
family  were  gone,  Isaac  got  to  work  with  a  shovel,  and  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  until  he  reached  a  huge  skeleton.  The  skull  was  very 
large,  and  had  the  marks  of  the  bullet  in  holes  on  the  opposite  sides. 
He  carefully  covered  up  the  place,  and  hid  the  skull  under  the  porch. 
Some  days  after  old  Doctor  Vanvalzah  came  along,  and  stopped  to 
talk  with  the  colonel  on  the  porch.  Something  was  said  about  large 
heads,  and  Isaac,  who  became  interested,  hauled  the  skull  out  from 
under  the  porch,  to  show  it  to  them.  Doctor  Vanvalzah  was  as- 
tonished at  its  size,  and  Colonel  Kelly  then  asked  Isaac  where  he  got 
it,  and  when  he  heard,  became  very  angry,  and  would  have  whaled 
Isaac  but  for  the  doctor's  presence.  He  then  told  the  doctor  the 
story  as  I  have  related  it. 

1st  November,  1872,  I  visited  William  Allison,  of  Potter's  Mills, 
Centre  county,  confined  to  his  house  by  a  paralytic  stroke,  (he  died 
on  nth  February,  1877,  aged  eighty-five,)  who  told  me  that  his 
father,  Archibald  Allison,  was  one  of  the  party  that  had  gone  to 
bring  the  Samples  off.  He  related  the  story  substantially  as  I  have 
given  it,  as  related  to  me  by  Captain  Jacob  Gundy.  He  added 
some  particulars  :  that  after  they  got  there,  they  heard  the  pecu- 
liar gobble  of  wild  turkeys,  and  Gundy  said  he  would  go  out  and 
shoot  one.  Vandyke  said:  "You'll  catch  turkey,  if  you  go  out 
there."  (Surmising  a  common  trick  of  the  Indians  to  imitate  turkey 
calls ;  two  soldiers  at  Potter's  Fort  were  enticed  out  in  that  way 
and  killed.)  That  the  man  wounded  through  the  thumb  cried 
and  howled  so  they  had  to  threaten  him  to  keep  him  quiet.  That 
they  drew  the  old  chief  inside  the  house  and  scalped  him,  and 
divided  his  accouterments.  His  father  got  the  string  of  wampum, 
which  was  about  the  house  for  a  long  time.  On  leaving  the  house, 
the  two  wounded  men,  with  the  old  people,  were  placed  in  the 
center.     They  had  left  the  house  about  sixty  rods  in  the  rear,  when 


/7^  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1779. 

the  Indians  sallied  out  from  behind  the  barn,  about  thirty  in  num- 
ber, according  to  Mr.  Allison's  account.  Gundy  and  party  held  a 
hurried  consultation  and  agreed  to  separate,  Gundy  taking  the 
left,  with  the  old  people,  the  rest  of  the  party  the  right.  Allison 
concealed  one  of  the  wounded  men  under  a  log,  and  the  Indians 
crossed  it  without  discovering  him.  In  the  race,  Allison  lost  his 
moccasins,  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  fort,  (as  the  rendezvous  was 
called,  on  John  Lesher's  place,  formerly  Billmyer's,)  his  feet  were 
bleeding  so  that  he  could  have  been  tracked  by  the  blood.  Archi- 
bald Allison  was  then  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  was  at  John 
Lee's  shortly  after  the  massacre  there,  in  1782,  and  saw  the  bodies 
of  the  murdered,  and  was  one  of  the  party  that  pursued  the  Indians. 
He  left  the  Valley  in  1783  or  1784,  and  pushed  on  into  Penn's 
valley,  where  he  married  a  daughter  of  George  McCormick,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  near  Spring  Mills,  where  he  remained,  and  died  in 
1844,  aged  eighty-four  years.  William  Kelly,  son  of  Colonel  John, 
married  one  of  Archibald  Allison's  daughters. 

19th  May,  General  Potter,  from  Penn's  valley,  writes  that  the 
greater  number  of  the  people  of  Buffalo  Valley  had  left. 

26th  May,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  he  had  come  poor  speed 
raising  the  company  of  rangers,  owing  to  the  number  of  people  that 
had  got  appointments  to  recruit  for  the  boat  service,  (convoying 
General  Sullivan's  commissary  up  the  North  Branch;)  that  he  had 
appointed  Thomas  Campleton  captain ;  that  the  few  people  remain- 
ing above  were  assembled  in  small  bodies  at  the  forts,  and  very 
little  farming  going  on;  that  on  the  25th,  twelve  large  boats,  loaded 
with  provisions,  left  for  Wyoming. 

June  7,  General  Sullivan  writes  from  Easton  that  he  has  so  great 
desire  for  the  services  of  General  Potter,  and  so  high  an  opinion 
of  him,  that  he  will  give  him  a  command  equal  to  his  wishes  if  he 
will  go  along. 

June  21,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Adam  Hubley,  with  part  of  his  regi- 
ment, occupied  Fort  Muncy,  Fort  Jenkins,  and  Sunbury. 

26th,  Colonel  Hunter  says  Captain  Campleton's  company  is  at  Bos- 
ley's  mill,  Chilliscjuaque  creek,  and  the  country  was  quite  drained 
of  m'en  for  the  boat  service.  The  few  spirited  men  that  remained 
were  guarding  the  women  and  children  at  the  different  posts  they 
were  assembled  at,  while  the  army  marches  from  Wyoming.     He 


1779.  j  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  175 

had  only  thirty  men,  exclusive  of  those  at  Fort  Freeland,  and  with 
General  Potter,  whom  he  would  keep  at  Sunbury  until  the  return  of 
the  army  to  Wyoming.  Colonel  Hartley's  regiment  marches  imme- 
diately to  join  General  Sullivan,  which  leaves  Fort  Muncy  and  Fort 
Jenkins  vacant. 

June  24,  Captain  Samuel  Brady  killed  Bald  Eagle,  a  notorious 
warrior,  of  the  Muncy  tribe,  near  Kittanning.  July  4,  he,  with  John 
Montour,  went  out  with  two  or  three  other  Indians  to  capture 
Simon  Girty.  9th,  reports  Simon  at  Conshocking.  (Colonel  Brod- 
head's  letter.) 

July  8,  Widow  Smith's  mills  burned,  and  one  man  killed,  in 
White  Deer  township. 

July  16,  General  Wayne  captures  Stony  Point. 

July  17,  Starrett's  mill  and  all  the  principal  houses  in  Muncy 
township  burned.  July  20,  three  men  killed  at  Fort  Freeland. 
21,  General  Sullivan  at  Wyoming. 

The  depreciation  of  continental  money  was  excessive  at  this  timej 
Vattel's  Law  of  Nations  brought  $400  ;  one  volume  of  Gibbon,  $40. 
23  March,  1779,  ^  ream  of  paper,  ^Q']^.  George  Read's  Life,  page, 
35°- 

Capiure  of  Fort  Freeland. 

July  26,  William  Maclay  writes  from  Paxton  (Harrisburg)  that 
he  had  just  returned  from  Sunbury.  That  the  whole  of  the  troops 
had  moved  from  Sunbury,  a  week  before,  to  join  General  Sullivan. 
"Northumberland  county  is  in  a  deplorable  situation,  without  a  single 
man,  except  the  militia  of  the  county,  and  Captain  Kamplen,  with 
fourteen  men.  Almost  every  young  man  on  the  frontier  engaged 
in  the  boat  service.  Everything  above  Muncy  Hill  is  abandoned. 
Forty  savages  had  penetrated  as  far  as  Freeland's  mills.  Freeland 
and  sundry  others  had  fallen  victims.  The  stores  at  Sunbury  are 
in  my  dwelling-house,  which  is  large  and  conveniently  situated  for 
defense.  The  back  part  of  it  was  stockaded  last  year,  by  Colonel 
Hartley." 

28th  July,  Colonel  Hunter  writes :  "Thisday,  about  twelve  o'clock, 
an  express  arrived  from  Captain  Boone's  mill,  informing  us  that 
Freeland's  fort  was  surrounded ;  and,  immediately  after,  another 
express  came,  informing  us  that  it  was  burned,  and  all  the  garrison 


776  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1779. 

either  killed  or  taken  prisoners ;  the  party  that  went  from  Boone's 
saw  a  number  of  Indians  and  some  red-coats  walking  around  the  fort, 
or  where  it  had  been.  After  that,  firing  was  heard  off  towards 
Chillisquaque.  Parties  are  going  off  from  this  town,  and  from  North  ■ 
umberland,  for  the  relief  of  the  garrison.  General  Sullivan  would 
send  us  no  assistance,  and  our  neighboring  counties  have  lost  the 
virtue  they  were  once  possessed  of,  otherwise  we  should  have  some 
relief  before  this.  I  write  in  a  confused  manner.  I  am  just  march- 
ing off,  up  the  West  Branch,  with  a  party  I  have  collected."  A  few 
days  before  the  capture  Robert  Covenhoven  went  up  as  far  as  Rals- 
ton, (now,)  where  he  discovered  Colonel  McDonald's  party  in  camp. 
He  returned  to  Fort  Muncy,  (Port  Penn,)  and  gave  the  alarm.  The 
women  and  children  then  were  put  in  boats  and  sent  down,  under  his 
charge,  to  Fort  Augusta.  He  took  with  him  the  families  at  Fort 
Meminger,  at  the  mouth  of  Warrior  run ;  but  Freeland's  fort  being 
four  and  a  half  miles  distant,  they  had  no  time  to  wait  for  the  fam- 
ilies there,  but  sent  a  messenger  to  alarm  them.  Covenhoven  (spelled 
Crownover,)  is  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard,  in  Northum- 
berland.    Born  December  7,  1758;  died  October  29,  1846. 

Mrs.  Mary  V.  Derrickson  (born  loth  February,  1779,)  a  daughter 
of  Cornelius  Vincent,  in  a  letter,  dated  Delaware  run,  December  17, 
1855,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  early  settlers,  and  of  Fort 
Freeland  :  In  1772,  Jacob  Freeland,  Samuel  Gould,  Peter  Vincent, 
and  his  son  Cornelius  cut  their  way  through  the  wilderness  and  set- 
tled within  two  miles  of  where  the  fort  was  afterwards  built.  In  the 
summer  of  1778,  the  year  of  the  Great  Runaway,  they  had  to  leave 
the  country.  They  returned  and  picketed  a  large  two-story  house, 
which  had  been  built  by  Jacob  Freeland.  During  the  winter  all 
the  families  lived  in  the  fort.  In  the  spring  of  1779  the  men  planted 
corn,  and  were  occasionally  surprised  by  the  Indians  ;  but  nothing 
serious  occurred  until  the  21st  of  July,  when  a  party  at  work  in  the 
corn-field  were  attacked  by  Indians,  about  nine  a.  m.  Isaac  Vincent, 
Elias  Freeland,  and  Jacob  Freeland,  junior,  were  killed.  Benjamin 
Vincent  and  Michael  Freeland  taken  prisoners.  Daniel  Vincent  out- 
ran the  Indians,  and  leaping  a  high  log  fence,  escaped.  Benjamin 
Vincent,  then  only  ten  years  old,  hid  himself  in  a  furrow;  he  left  it 
to  climb  a  tree,  and  was  seen  and  captured.  He  knew  nothing  about 
the  fate  of  the  others  until  in  the  afternoon,  when  an  Indian  thrust 


1779.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  177 

the  bloody  scalp  of  his  brother  Isaac  into  his  face.  At  daybreak,  on 
the  28th  Jacob  Freeland,  senior,  was  shot  as  he  was  going  out  of  the 
gate,  and  fell  inside.  The  fort  was  surrounded.  There  were  twenty- 
one  men  in  it,  and  very  little  ammunition.  Mary  Kirk  and  Phoebe 
Vincent  commenced  immediately  and  ran  all  their  spoons  and  plates 
into  bullets.  About  nine  a  flag  was  raised,  and  John  Lytle  and 
John  Vincent  went  out  to  capitulate,  but  could  not  agree,  and  one 
half  hour  was  given  to  consult  those  within.  It  was  finally  agreed 
that  all  who  could  bear  arms  should  go  as  prisoners,  the  old  men 
with  the  women  and  children  to  be  set  free,  and  the  fort  given  to 
plunder.  The  latter  left  the  fort  at  twelve.  Not  one  eat  a  bite  that 
day,  and  not  a  child  was  heard  to  cry  or  ask  for  bread.  They 
reached  Northumberland,  eighteen  miles  distant,  that  night.  Mrs. 
Kirk  put  girl's  clothes  on  her  son  William,  a  lad  of  sixteen,  and  he 
escaped  with  the  women.  Elizabeth  Vincent  was  a  cripple,  and 
could  not  walk.  Her  husband,  John  Vincent,  went  to  Captain  Mc- 
Donald and  told  him  her  situation,  and  asked  for  the  horse  the 
Indians  had  taken  from  his  son  Peter  a  week  before.  He  carried 
his  wife  to  the  lower  end  of  the  meadow,  where  they  lay  and  saw  the 
fort  burned.  It  rained  hard  that  night,  and  she  lay  partly  in  the 
water.  In  the  morning  the  horse  came  to  them.  Vincent  plaited  a 
halter  out  of  the  bark  of  a  hickory  tree,  set  his  wife  on,  and  led  it 
to  Northumberland,  where  wagons  were  pressed  to  take  the  people 
down  the  country.  Colonel  Hunter's  account  says:  "That  the 
firing  at  Freeland's  was  heard  at  Boone's  mill,  about  seven  miles  off. 
(This  mill  was  on  Muddy  Run,  six  hundred  yards  from  its  mouth, 
the  site  of  what  is  now  Kemmerer's  Mill,  two  miles  above  Milton.) 
Captains  Hawkins  Boone,  Kemplen,  and  Daugherty  marched  with 
thirty-four  men,  but  were  met  before  they  reached  the  fort.  Cap- 
tain Kemplen,  who  observed  the  first  Indian,  shot  him  dead.  Our 
men  behaved  with  great  bravery,  but  were  overpowered,  and  fifteen 
were  killed  and  two  wounded.  Among  the  dead.  Captain  Boone 
and  Captain  Samuel  Daugherty,  two  very  good  men." 

This  engagement  took  place  at  McClung's  place,  above  Milton. 
William  Miles,  who  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  fort,  and  afterwards 
resided  in  Erie  county,  said  that,  in  Canada,  Captain  McDonald 
spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  desperate  bravery  of  Hawkins 

12 


i-j8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1779. 

Boone.  His  scalp,  with  that  of  Daugherty,  was  brought  into  fort 
Freeland. 

Boone  came  originally  from  Exeter,  Berks  county,  and  was  a 
cousin  of  the  celebrated  Daniel  Boone,  of  Kentucky.  His  grand- 
father, George  Boone,  had  a  large  family  of  sons  :  William,  Joseph, 
James,  Benjamin,  John,  Hezekiah,  Squire,  and  Josiah  Boone. 
Hawkins  was  a  son  of  Squire,  who  moved  to  North  Carolina  in 
1752.  Hawkins  was  a  surveyor,  and  lived  on  the  place  just  above 
New  Columbia  now  owned  by  Samuel  Gemberling.  He  owned, 
also,  the  Jacob  Rees'  place,  north-west  of  the  latter  place,  the 
Earnest  Book  tract,  &c.  He  was  commissioned  a  captain  in  the 
twelfth  Pennsylvania  regiment,  and  selected  to  accompany  a  detach- 
ment of  riflemen  from  the  regiment,  sent  under  Morgan  to  Saratoga. 
In  a  return  of  Morgan's  command,  dated  at  Lowdon's  ferry,  on  the 
Mohawk,  September  3,  1777,  he  is  marked  absent;  wounded.  In 
February,  1779,  the  State  Council  allowed  him  clothes  out  of  the 
State  stores,  "in  consideration  of  his  situation  and  spirited  intre- 
pidity of  his  conduct  in  the  campaign  under  Colonel  Hartley,  when 
his  situation  might  have  justified  him  in  remaining  at  home."  He 
left  a  widow,  Jane,  and  two  daughters.  Some  years  after  his  death, 
his  widow  married  a  Mr.  Fortenbaugh,  and  moved  to  Halifax,  Dau- 
phin county,  where  she  resided  many  years. 

Of  Boone's  party,  Samuel  Brady,  (uncle  of  Captain  Samuel,)  James 
Dougherty,  and  James  Hammond  made  their  escape.  Daniel  Vin- 
cent, father  of  late  Mr.  Vincent,  of  McEwensville,  had  been  recently 
married,  and  after  the  capture,  his  wife  returned  to  New  Jersey.  For 
four  years  she  heard  nothing  _of  him.  One  evening,  when  she  was 
out  with  a  sleighing  party,  a  roughly  dressed  man  stopped  at  the 
tavern  where  they  were,  and  inquired  if  a  Mrs.  Vincent  lived  near 
there.  She  was  pointed  out  to  him,  and  he  told  her  he  had  met 
her  husband  in  Canada.  He  rode  home  in  the  same  sleigh,  and  was 
disposed  to  take  her  upon  his  lap.  She  declined  the  favor  until  she 
discovered  the  impertinent  stranger  was  her  husband. — Day" s  Col- 
lections, 1843.  [See  Meginness'  West  Branch  Valley,  page  257,  &c., 
for  an  interesting  notice  of  the  return  of  the  captives.] 

In  a  letter  from  Sunbury,  dated  January  27,  1783,  to  General 
James  Potter,  member  of  the  Executive  Council,  Colonel  Hunter 


177'J.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  ijq 

incloses  a  roll  of  the  men  taken  prisoners  at  Fort  Freeland,  the 
28th  July,  1779.  "Captain's  company,  John  Neely,  sergeant; 
George  Bailey,  George  Armitage,  Aaron  Martin,  (died  at  Fort 
Chambly,  January  8,  17S0,)  Thomas  Smith,  Isaac  Wilson,  and 
John  Forney.  The  following  persons,  being  those  of  the  militia 
that  enrolled  themselves  for  the  defense  of  the  garrison  :  John  Lytle, 
adjutant ;  Cornelius  Vincent,  quartermaster ;  sergeant,  Samuel 
Gould  ;  Henry  Townley,  Peter  Williams,  Isaac  Williams,  Elias  Wil- 
liams, Henry  GilfiUan,  James  Durham,  Daniel  Vincent,  John  Watts,  \ 
William  Miles,  John  Dough,  Thomas  Taggar*",  (died  i6th  January, 
1780;)  Francis  Watts,  made  his  escape  on  the  same  day  he  was  ( 
taken;  Peter  Vincent,  likewise  made  his  escape  the  same  day." 
Colonel  Hunter  adds:  "  I  appointed  Captain  Thomas  Kemplen  to 
recruit  a  company  under  a  resolve  of  Congress  authorizing  the 
Council  to  raise  a  company  for  each  frontier  county,  and  to  ap- 
point the  officers  thereof,  in  place  of  Captain  John  McElhatten, 
who  was  not  in  the  county,  or  expected  soon.  Kemplen  engaged 
on  the  7th  of  May,  and  was  of  as  much  service  as  any  man  could 
be  with  the  small  company  of  men  he  had  during  the  time.  A 
number  of  his  men  who  were  taken  prisoners  at  Fort  Freeland,  have 
come  home  poor  and  naked." 

Colonel  Kelly  went  over  with  a  party  from  Buffalo  Valley,  and 
buried  the  dead  at  Fort  Freeland. 

November  27,  the  German  regiment  arrived  at  Sunbury,  and 
Colonel  Hunter  proposes  to  station  a  sergeant's  guard  at  Titzell's 
mill,  in  Buffalo  Valley.  Among  the  deaths  this  year  are  Samuel- 
Allen,  of  White  Deer,  in  May.  In  July,  William  McLaughlin,  of  the 
same  township.  Samuel  Allen  left  a  widow,  Lavinia ;  children, 
Ruth  Reynolds,  Agnes,  Mary  Rippey,  Elphina,  Samuel,  Joseph, 
James,  John,  and  Robert. 

Joseph  Weeks,  (of  now  Gregg  township,)  left  a  widow,  Rachel ; 
children,  Jesse,  Hannah,  Frances,  Jemima,  Sutherland,  Hyllothem, 
Nacum,  and  Fronk. 

John  Foster,  Esquire,  who  died  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  some  years 
since,  and  who  was  a  son  of  Captain  John  Foster,  was  wont  to  relate 
an  incident  occurring  at  this  time.  One  night  the  family  were 
alarmed  by  Indians,  and  fled  to  a  rye  patch  adjoining  the  house, 
where  they  passed  the  night.     A  small  dog  that  was  usually  very 


iSo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  (1780. 

noisy  at  night  stayed  with  them  and  made  no  noise.  The  family 
always  considered  it  a  special  act  of  Providence,  as  the  next  morn- 
ing plenty  of  Indian  tracks  were  fonnd  around  the  house. 


1^80. 


Inhabitants  .of  BrFFAUO,  Wiiitp:  Deer,  and  Penn's — Indian  Tkocisles — 
David  Couples  Killed — Attack  at  French  Jacob's  Mill — George 
Etzweiler  and  others  Killed — Roll  of  Captain  Thompson's  Com- 
pany— Patrick  Watson  and  Baltzer  Klinesmith  Killed — Peter 
Grove's  Pursuit  of  the  Indians — Barber's  Mill  Built. 

|OUNCILLOR,  General  James  Potter.  Representatives 
in  the  Assembly,  William  Montgomery,  David  Mc- 
Kinney,  and  Major  John  Kelly.  Prothonotary,  Cap- 
2^  tain  Matthew  Smith,  appointed  February  4.  County 
('ommissioners,  Daniel  Montgomery,  William  Clark,  and  John 
White.     Collector  of  Excise,  Daniel  Montgomery. 

Names  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Buffalo  Township,  in  the  beginning  of 

April,  1780. 

Allison,  Archibald;  Auld,  George;  Aurand,  Henry;  Aurand, 
Jacob;  Baker,  Wendel;  Beatty,  Hugh;  Beatty,  Alexander;  Bernhard, 
Mathias;  Bickle,  Henry;  Bickle,  Christopher;  Bilby,  John;  Black, 
Thomas;  Brady,  Mary ;  Braton,  Caldwell ;  Brindle,  John  ;  Bolen- 
dcr,  Henry;  Book,  Conrad;  Book,  John;  Book,  George;  Boveard, 
James;  Bower,  Casper ;  Burn,  Peter;  Burger,  Martin  ;  Chambers, 
Robert;  Charters,  William;  Clarke,  John;  Crawford,  Edward ;  Cri- 
der,  John;  Conner,  Jacob;  Coon,  Nicholas;  Cox,  Tunis;  Cox, 
Widow ;  Davis,  John  ;  Derr,  Ludwig  ;  Doudrick,  John  ;  Dreisbach, 
Jacob;  Duncan,  David;  Elder,  Thomas;  Emerick,  David;  Etzweiler, 
George  ;  Ewig,  Adam  ;  Eyer,  Abraham  ;  Fiddler,  Stephen  ;  Filey, 
John;  Fleming,  Robert;  Fleming,  James;  Frederick,  Peter;  Fred- 


1780.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  i8i 

erick..  George ;  Foster,  John ;  Foster,  William ;  Foster,  Captain 
John;  Gibson,  Andrew;  Gibson,  James;  Gilman,  Henry,  senior; 
Gilman,  Henry,  junior;  Glen,  Andrew;  Green,  Joseph;  Greenlee, 
William  ;  Groshong,  Jacob,  grist-mill ;  Grove,  Michael ;  he  was 
taxed  with  a  ferry,  which  was  at  the  old  Judge  McPherson  place, 
near  Winfield ;  Gothard,  John ;  Hains,  George ;  Hains,  George, 
junior;  Hains,  John;  Huntsman,  James;  Hamilton,  Robert;  Harb- 
ster,  Da\-id:  Harbster,  Jacob;  Hiltman,  John;  Henry,  Christopher, 
distillery;  Hessler,  John;  Hessler,  Michael:  Holman,  Charles; 
Hone,  Henry;  Hoy,  Philip;  Hub,  Daniel;  Hunter,  Samuel;  taxed 
with  senants,  negro,  horses,  cows,  spoons,-  &c.;  he  resided  on 
Peun's  creek,  on  the  tract  he  took  up,  now  owned  by  the  Messrs. 
Oldts,  in  Union  township ;  Ir\-ine,  William,  (Irish ;)  Irwin,  James, 
distillery;  Jenkins,  James;  Jermony,  Thomas;  Johnston,  William; 
Johnston,  John;  Kester,  Peter;  King,  Samuel;  Kishler,  Francis; 
Klinesmith,  Baltzer;  Links,  Jacob;  Laughlin,  Samuel;  Lee,  John, 
two  stills;  Leech,  William;  Leonard,  Peter;  Lewds,  Daniel;  Low- 
don,  John;  McCaley,  Alexander;  McCandlish,  William,  senior; 
McCandlish,  William,  junior;  McClung,  John;  McCoy,  James; 
McDonald,  Randall;  McGee,  James;  McGrady,  Alexander;  Mc- 
Kelvey,  James;  Metzgar,  Jacob;  Miller,  Benjamin;  Milligan,  John  ■ 
Mitchell,  John;  Mizener,  Henry;  Mizener,  Conrad;  Mook,  John  ; 
Moore,  William,  sawmill;  Morrow,  Andrew;  Nees,  John,  grist  mill; 
afterwards  Green's  and  Bellas' ;  Noble,  Robert ;  Overmeier,  George, 
senior;  Overmeier,  George,  junior;  Parkinson,  Daniel;  Price,  Thom- 
as; Pontius,  Andrew;  Pontius,  John,  senior;  Pontius,  John,  junior  ; 
Pontius,  Nicholas;  Pontius,  George:  Pontius,  Henry;  Quinn, 
Terrence;  Ray,  John;  Rees,  Abel;  Richard,  Henry;  Rinehard; 
Frederick;  Rinehart,  George;  Rosabaugh,  George;  Rote,  George; 
Scott,  John ;  Sharp,  Daniel ;  Shirley,  Charles ;  Shively,  John ; 
Shively,  Christian ;  Sierer,  John ;  Sips,  Joseph ;  Shaw,  William ; 
Slack,  Henry;  Smith,  Adam;  Smith,  Ludwig ;  Smith,  David; 
Snyder,  Peter  :  Snyder,  Michael ;  Speddy,  William  ;  Storms,  Chris- 
tian ;  Storms,  Da\-id :  Stroh,  Nicholas ;  Sutherland,  William  ;  Tate, 
Edward;  Taveler,  Joseph;  Templeton,  Samuel;  Thorn,  James; 
Thornburg,  Thomas ;  Thompson,  John  ;  Trester,  ^Martin,  senior ; 
Trester,  Martin,  junior ;  Trinkle,  Charles ;  Vandyke,  Henry,  tan- 
yard;  Vought,  Michael;  Walker,  John;  Watson,  Hugh;  Watson, 


i82  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  1780. 

Patrick;  Watson,  David;  Welker,  Leonard,  grist  and  saw-mill; 
Weyland,  Henry;  Williams,  William;  Williams,  James;  Wilson, 
Robert ;  Wise,  Jacob ;  Wise,  Frederick ;  Wolfe,  Andrew ;  Wolfe, 
George;  Young,  Samuel,  distillery;  Young,  Matthew;  Zeller, 
Peter. 

Of  these  the  following  returned  money  for  taxation  only  :  Bickle, 
Christopher,  ^loo  ;  Chambers,  Robert,  ;^6o  ;  Frederick,  George, 
;^5oo  ;  Green,  Joseph,  ^140 ;  McCandlish,  William,  ^^40  ;  Storms, 
Christian,  ;^45o. 

Additional  Residents  or  Taxable s  of  White  Deer  in  1780. 

Allen,  Joseph;  Allen,  John;  Auman,  Philip;  Barber,  John; 
Caldwell,  John ;  Campbell,  Charles ;  Cherry,  John ;  Clendenin, 
John;  Collins,  Daniel;  Couples,  Sarah,  widow;  Crawford,  Robert; 
Daraugh,  Ephraim ;  Derr,  Widow ;  Eakins,  John  ;  Heckle,  Andrew, 
distillery;  Gibson,  James;  Glen,  Joseph;  Gray,  Robert;  Hammel, 
Charles;  Hayes,  David;  Hill,  Elizabeth;  Hill,  Jacob;  Hoffman, 
Joseph;  Huling,  Marcus,  of  the  Island;  Hood,  Moses;  Huston, 
Samuel;  Iddings,  Jonathan;  Kelly,  Lawrence;  King,  William; 
Love,  Robert;  McClenachan,  William;  McCracken,  John;  Mc- 
Cord,  Robert ;  McCord,  James ;  McGowan,  John ;  McKinney, 
James  ;  McLaughlin,  John  ;  Marshall,  William  ;  Miller,  Archibald  ; 
Millwright,  Mathias ;  Montgomery,  Samuel ;  Murray,  William ; 
Poak,  John;  Randels,  Joseph;  Randels,  Hugh;  Row,  James; 
Shields,  Widow;  Shearer,  Widow;  Turner,  Thomas,  distillery; 
Swartz,  Peter,  junior;  Tanahill,  John;  Vandyke,  Lambert.  Im- 
provements, saw-mill  at  William  Blythe's,  Red  Bank  run. 

Among  the  Residents  of  Penn' s  Township  in  1780. 

Barnard,  France  ;  Bart,  Jacob  ;  Bartges,  Stophel ;  Beard,  Wil- 
liam ;  Berts,  Benjamin  ;  Bickard,  John  ;  Bickle,  Thomas  ;  Bickle, 
Simon,  distillery;  Bickle,  Tobias,  distillery;  Bickle,  Jacob ;  Borald, 
Adam  ;  Bolender,  Adam,  senior ;  Bolender,  Adam,  junior ;  Bom- 
baugh,  widow,  still;  Borer,  Peter;  Bower,  Peter;  Bunker,  Abra- 
ham ;  Carstetter,  Martin  ;  Cline,  Jacob ;  Cline,  Andrew ;  Coleman, 
John  ;  Collins,  Moses  ;  Copenberger,  Paul ;  Crow,  Godfrey  ;  Dean- 
er,  George ;  Deininger,  Jacob ;  Dowdle,  widow,  (widow  of  Cap- 
tain Dowdle;)  Dreese,  Joseph;  Eberhart,  Bernard;  Egeh,  William  ; 


1780.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  183 

Evans,  John  ;  Faucy,  Benjamin  ;  Fisher,  Abraliam ;  Freyburg,  Lud- 
wig;  Gan,  Frederick;  Gaws,  Christian;  Ginney,  (weaver;)  Gray- 
bill,  Christian  ;  Green,  John  ;  Graybill,  John  ;  Guyer,  Valentine  ; 
Hains,  John  ;  Harman,  John  ;  Heffling,  Jacob ;  Heffling,  Conrad ; 
Hermon,  Henry  ;  Hoan,  Michael,  senior ;  Hornberger,  Charles  ; 
Hooks,  Stephen;  Horn,  Samuel;  Kemerer,  Peter;  Kemerer,  Dan- 
iel ;  Kerstetter,  Leonard ;  Kerstetter,  widow ;  Kerel,  Hugh  ;  Ket- 
tleman,  David;  Kreek,  Philip;  Kreek,  Jacob;  Koch,  Daniel;  La- 
bel, Jacob ;  Leist,  David ;  Liber,  Adam  ;  McTaget,  Billy  ;  Man- 
ning, John  ;  Manning,  Richard ;  Mateer,  Robert ;  Meikle,  Simeon ; 
Mattig,  Daniel ;  Merkley,  George  ;  Motz,  Michael ;  Meyer,  John  ; 
Meyer,  Charles,  distillery;  Mogel,  Valentine;  Moon,  Thomas; 
Moon,  James  ;  Moore,  Andrew,  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine  acres 
of  land,  oil-mill,  two  distilleries,  one  grist  and  one-saw-mill ;  Morton, 
Jacob  ;  Mull,  Anthony  ;  Neyman,  Jacob  ;  Newcomer,  Peter  ;  Nitz, 
Philip ;  Nitz,  John  ;  Ogden,  Joseph ;  Oudly,  Edward ;  Peters,  Michael ; 
Reybert,  John,  senior;  Reger,Elias;  Reger,  Michael ;  Reichenbaugh, 
Jacob  ;  Reed,  Casper,  saw-mill ;  Reihm,  Henry  ;  Retzel,  Youst ; 
Reit,  John  ;  Ritchie,  Robert ;  Rodgers,  John  ;  Roush,  Jacob  ;  Row, 
Martin,  junior  ;  Row,  Ludwig  ;  Ryhart,  John  ;  Schock,  George  ; 
Schock,  John  ;  Shaffer,  George  ;  Sharrer,  Michael ;  Shoemaker,  Pe- 
ter ;  Smith,  Stephen  ;  Snyder,  Thomas  ;  Stees,  Jacob,  grist  and  saw- 
mill ;  Steffy,  Adam  ;  Straub,  John ;  Styer,  Henry ;  Styers,  Jacob  ; 
Sutton,  Zachariah;  Swineford,  John;  Swineford,  Albright,  six  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres,  and  grist-mill ;  Tremgel,  Peter ;  Trenkle, 
Matthias;  Truckenmiller,  Frederick;  Ulrich,  George,  junior ;  Wood- 
ward, Simon  ;   Zellner,  John. 

2d  April,  William  Maclay  writes  to  President  Reed,  from  Sunbury  : 
"  Sir  :  I  will  not  trouble  you  with  the  distress  of  this  county.  It 
will,  no  doubt,  be  painted  to  the  Council  in  lively  colors,  and,  in- 
deed, the  picture  cannot  be  overcharged  ;  nor  should  I,  at  this  time, 
write  to  you,  but  for  a  strong  belief  and  persuasion  that  a  body  of 
Lidians  are  lodged  about  the  head  of  Fishing  and  Muncy  creek. 
They  were  with  us  to  the  very  beginning  of  the  deep  snow  last  year ; 
they  are  with  us  now  before  that  snow  is  quite  gone.  Many  of  our 
hunters,  who  went  up  late  last  fall  into  that  country,  (which  is  a  fine 
one  for  hunting,)  were  so  alarmed  with  the  constant  reports  of  guns, 
which  they  could  not  believe  to  be  those  of  white  men,  that  they 


i84  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1780. 

returned  suddenly  back.  We  are  not  strong  enough  to  spare  men 
to  examine  this  country,  and  dislodge  them.  The  German  regiment 
are  under  their  own  ofificers,  and,  for  my  part,  I  expect  no  service 
from  them.  I  cannot  help  uttering  a  wish  that  what  troops  we  have 
might  be  all  Pennsylvanians.  There  is  a  certain  love  of  country  that 
really  has  weight.  This  is  a  strange  divided  quarter.  Whig,  Tory, 
Yankee,  Pennamite,  Dutch,  Irish,  and  English  influence  are  strangely 
blended.  I  must  confess  I  begin  to  be  national,  too,  and  most  sin- 
cerely believe  every  public  interest  of  America  will  be  safer  in  the 
hands  of  Americans  than  with  any  others.  Eut  I  will  not  trouble 
you  with  any  more  of  my  opinions.  Help  us  if  you  can,  and  much 
oblige  a  distressed  country." 

Colonel  Samuel  Hunter  writes,  on  the  same  day  :  "The  savages 
have  made  their  appearance  on  the  frontiers  in  a  hostile  manner. 
Day  before  yesterday  they  took  seven  or  eight  prisoners  about  two 
miles  above  Fort  Jenkins,  and  two  days  before  they  carried  off 
several  people  from  about  Wyoming.  The  German  regiment  that  is 
stationed  here  is  no  ways  adequate  to  grant  us  the  necessary  relief. 
The  case  is  quite  altered  from  this  time  twelve  months  ago.  We  then 
had  a  pretty  good  garrison  at  Muncy,  Brady's  fort,  Freeland's,  with 
our  own  inhabitants.  Now  we  have  but  forty  or  fifty  at  Montgom- 
ery's, and  thirty  at  Fort  Jenkins.  The  latter  was  not  able  to  spare 
men  enough  to  pursue  the  enemy,  that  carried  off  the  prisoners, 
though  there  were  but  thirty  Tories  and  Indians,  and  a  pretty  deep 
snow  had  fallen  the  night  before,  by  which  they  could  be  tracked. 
I  have  seen  the  time  within  three  years  that  we  could  turn  out  some 
hundred  of  good  woodsmen,  but  the  country  is  quite  drained  of  our 
best  men." 

The  rapid  depreciation  of  money  may  be  noted  through  an  item 
in  the  State  Treasurer's  account :  May  17,  order  to  Samuel  Dale,  ad- 
ditional pay  as  Member,  in  consequence  of  the  price  of  wheat  raised 
from  ^\^  to  ^20  per  bushel,  nth  March,  cassimere  was  $2>'^o 
per  yard ;  jean  and  habit  cloth,  $60  per  yard. 

April  8,  a  party  of  Indians  made  a  descent  on  White  Deer  creek. 
At  Redbank,  one  and  one-half  miles  south  of  White  Deer  Mills,  a 
little  below  where  Charley  Ely's  blacksmith  shop  used  to  be,  toward 
the  river,  lived  David  Couples,  with  his  wife  and  two  children.  They 
killed  and  scalped  Couples  and  two  of  the  children,  and  took  his  wife 


1780.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  i^S 

prisoner.  They  camped  for  the  night  on  the  hills  above  the  mills, 
where  she  made  her  escape,  although  one  of  them  had  lain  himself 
down  upon  her  clothes,  so  that  her  moving  would  alarm  him.  The 
next  day,  when  the  people  came  to  the  house,  they  found  the  chil- 
dren had  crawled  under  the  bed,  but  their  eyes  were  rent  with  in- 
tensity of  suffering.  One  daughter  survived,  Margaret  Couples. 
She  married  a  man  named  William  Armstrong,  a  wagoner  on  Doctor 
Eaker's  place,  and  they  moved  to  Centre  county.  The  widow  mar- 
ried a  man  named  Elliot,  of  Chillisquaque.  Some  of  the  family 
live  about  Northumberland.  Captain  John  M.  Huff,  of  Milton,  is 
a  grandson. 

In  Doctor  Harbaugh's  Fathers  of  the  German  Reformed  Church, 
we  find  the  following  notice  of  the  first  stated  Reformed  minister 
nearest  to  the  region  of  our  annals:  As  early  as  the  i8th  of  May, 
the  Reverend  Samuel  Dubbendorff  labored  as  a  minister  at  Lykens 
valley.  A  letter  of  that  date  says :  '  *  like  John  the  Baptist,  he  at  present 
preaches  to  three  congregations,  bordering  upon  the  Indians.  The 
people  greatly  love  and  honor  him,  yet  owing  to  their  poverty,  can 
give  him  only  the  most  necessary  articles  of  food,  but  not  a  cent  of 
money  as  salary."  Mr.  Dubbendorff,  no  doubt,  preached  as  a  sup- 
ply for  the  churches  on  Penn's  creek,  and,  perhaps,  in  Buffalo  Valley, 
as  we  find  that  when  he  beame  too  feeble,  from  age,  to  labor  any 
longer  in*  the  ministry,  he  removed  to  a  friend's,  near  Selinsgrove, 
where  he  died.  He  is  buried  in  Selinsgrove,  but  no  memorial,  we 
believe,  marks  his  grave. 

Attack  on  French  Jacob's  Mill. 

Northumberland  Town,  May  i8,  1780. 
I  am  unhappy  enough  to  inform  you  the  savage  enemy  have,  on 
the  :6th  inst.,  made  a  stroke  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  much  dis- 
tressed county,  at   Buffalo  Valley.      At  French   Jacob  Grozong's 

mills  four   men  killed,    viz:    Jno.  Forster,  jr.,    Eytzwiller, 

James  Chambers,  and  Samuel  McLaughlen.  The  enemy  got  only 
one  of  the  scalps.  The  neighboring  inhabitants,  on  hearing  the 
firing,  briskly  turned  out,  and  pursued  the  enemy  very  brave,  but 
was  not  able  to  overtake  them.  The  inhabitants  have  stood  here, 
indeed,  longer  than  could  been  expected,  were  it  not  desperation. 
But,  sir,  unless  some  support  can  be  instantly  afforded,  the  State 


i86  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1780. 

must  shortly  count  one  county  less  than  formerly — which  God 
forbid.  I  refer  you,  D'r  sir,  to  the  bearer,  Gen,  Potter,  for  further 
information,  as  he  waits  on  horseback,  whilst  I  write  this  imperfect, 
distress'd  acc't.  Provisions  none,  cash  none,  nor  can  it  be  had 
in  this  place.  Gen.  Potter's  acc'ts  from  this  place  to  the  Hon'ble 
the  Assembly,  which  I  doubt  not  you  will  see,  will  fully  satisfy  you 
of  the  state  of  this  place. 

I  am,  D'r  sir,  your  most  obt.  humble  serv't, 

Matthew  Smith. 

Gen.  Jos.  Reed. 

Sometime  between  1776  and  1779,  Jacob  Groshong,  familiarly 
known  as  French  Jacob,  built  a  little  log  mill,  the  site  of  which  is 
now  familiarly  known  as  Solomon  Heberling's,  on  what  he  supposed 
was  his  own  location.  He  was  defeated  in  a  suit  at  Sunbury,  rode 
home  the  same  night,  dismantled  the  mill,  moved  the  wheels,  &c., 
down  to  the  site  of  what  is  now  Dater  &  Reish's  mill.  Here  he 
re-built  his  mill  in  1782  and  1783,  and  added  a  saw-mill  in  1785. 
In  1793,  Enoch  Thomas  got  the  property,  and  Groshong  moved  up 
to  the  end  of  the  Nittany  mountain,  in  Centre  county,  and  thence 
West.  From  Thomas,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Christopher 
Johnson,  in  1797,  and  into  the  hands  of  John  Hofferd,  in  1808, 
and  finally  into  the  Reish's. 

The  old  mill  building,  where  this  fight  occurred,  Mr.  Philip  Pon- 
tius told  me  he  took  down  when  he  owned  the  property,  and  that  he 
carefully  preserved  the  timbers  that  had  the  bullet  marks  in  them, 
and  placed  them  in  another  building  there,  where  they  could  still 
be  seen. 

This  will  explain  the  impression  on  the  minds  of  some  old  peo- 
ple I  have  talked  with,  who  alleged  the  site  of  French  Jacob's  mill, 
where  the  fight  occurred,  was  at  the  old  Hofferd  or  Reish  mill ; 
whereas,  in  truth,  it  occurred  at  the  little  old  mill,  the  site  of  which 
is  on  Solomon  Heberling's  place. 

Groshong's  name,  or  rather  his  nick-name,  is  still  preserved  in 
connection  with  the  large  spring  a  little  above  the  tavern,  on  the 
Brush  Valley  road.  I  find  in  1787  he  was  assessed  by  his  nick- 
name, "Jacob,  French."  He  is  the  hero  of  all  the  wild  tales  of 
Indian  troubles  in  that  part  of  the  Valley.  The  place  where  he  hid 
from  the  Indians,  beside  this  spring,  is  still  pointed  out. 


1780.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  187 

The  place  became  more  noted  in  after  years  as  the  residence  of 
Captain  John  Bergstresser,  who,  as  early  as  181 1,  had  an  oil,  full- 
ing-mill, saw-mill,  and  kept  store  upon  the  premises.  Bergstresser 
came  in  after  Henry  Snyder,  who  had  some  sort  of  mills  there  as 
early  as  1802. 

Christian  Shively  told  my  informant,  John  Beeber,  that  he  heard 
the  signal  firing  at  this  time.  He  was  threshing  some  grain  at  the 
time.  He  had  a  hard,  smooth  place  tramped  on  the  ground,  and 
was  throwing  the  wheat  up  in  the  air  to  allow  the  wind  to  blow  the 
chaff  away.  He  immediately  hid  his  wife  and  two  children  near 
the  mouth  of  White  Spring  run.  He  slipped  silently  about,  rolled 
some  logs  into  Penn's  creek,  tied  them  with  hickory  withes  into  a 
raft,  put  his  wife  and  children  on,  and  floated  down  to  Beatty's, 
where  New  Berlin  now  stands. 

Philip  Pontius  told  me  his  father  also  heard  the  signal.  He  un- 
hitched his  horses,  and  made  a  circuit  through  the  woods,  gun  in 
hand,  and  came  to  the  mill.  He  said  William  Fisher  made  a  nar- 
row escape.  He  was  running  into  the  mill,  when  his  foot  slipped 
on  a  board,  and  he  fell  into  the  door.  The  bullet  intended  for  him 
struck  the  building  on  a  line  where  his  head  would  have  been  had  he 
not  fallen. 

One  tradition  of  the  neighborhood  is  that  this  was  a  patrol  of 
five  men  which  passed  every  day  between  Titzell's,  late  Kelly's,  mill 
and  French  Jacob's,  and  they  were  attacked  by  the  Indians  in  sight 
of  the  mills.  Another  has  it  that  the  soldiers  were  out  washing 
when  they  were  fired  on. 

John  Forster  was  an  uncle  of  the  late  Captain  John  Forster,  of 
Mifflinburg,  and  a  brother  of  the  old  Major  Thomas  Forster.  James 
Chambers  was  the  son  of  Robert  Chambers. 

George  Etzweiler,  junior,  left  a  widow  named  Mary.  George 
Etzvveiler,  a  son  of  the  one  killed,  kept  hotel  at  McKee's  Half- Falls, 
as  late  as  181 2.  William  Fisher  was  the  grandfather  of  James 
Crossgrove  and  Sheriff  John  Crossgrove,  and  resided  in  Limestone, 
where  James  Crossgrove  lately  resided.  William  Gill  told  me  he 
heard  old  Mrs.  Overmeier  say  that  the  people  who  were  killed, 
were  brought  over  to  the  place  adjoining  Philip  Seebold's  residence, 
above  New  Berlin,  and  were  buried  in  the  old  grave-yard  on  the 
bluff  at  the  creek,  where  Dry  run  comes  in,  nearly  opposite  where 


i88  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1780. 

Tiiscarora  run  enters  Penn's,  on  the  Snyder  county  sicle.^  Here  old 
John  Trester  and  the  first  settlers  were  buried.  This  grave-yard, 
probably  the  oldest  in  the  county,  was  not  used  after  1791,  when 
the  people  commenced  burying  in  New  Berlin.  It  belonged  to 
Thomas  Barber,  who  was  killed  in  1792,  by  the  timbers  of  an  old 
barn  falling  upon  him.  Some  time  during  this  year,  one  of  the 
Mizener's,  who  resided  where  Daniel  Pontius  now  resides,  near 
Reish's  distillery,  was  captured,  and  carried  off  from  that  place  by  the 
Indians.  Esquire  Sheckler  informs  me  it  was  Adam  Mizener,  who 
moved  to  Ohio,  and  died  there  some  years  ago.  He  remained  in 
captivity  about  eighteen  months. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  the  Archives  state  that  a  man  and  three 
children  were  killed,  near  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek.  According 
to  the  statement  of  William  Wilson,  (Doctor  T.  H's.  grandfather,) 
this  occurred  at  the  old  house  where  Thomas  Ream  now  lives.  The 
woman  escaped  across  the  creek  and,  looking  back,  saw  an  Indian 
dash  the  brains  out  of  the  small  child  against  a  tree.  The  name  of 
the  family  was  Allen. 

Copy  of  Roll  found  ajnong  Colonel  John  Kellf  s  papers. 

A  pay-roll  of  my  company  of  the  first  battalion,  Northumberland 
county  militia,  commencnig  16th  of  July,  17S0.  Enrolled,  July  16, 
1780.     Discharged,  August  15. 

Colonel — Kelly,  John. 

Captain — Thompson,  James. 

Lieutenant — Poak,  Joseph. 

Ensign — Ewing,  Alexander. 

Black,  William  ;  Black,  Thomas ;  Brindage,  Joseph ;  Fleming, 
Hance;  Green,  Joseph;  Hamersley,  James;  Iddings,  Jonathan; 
Poak,  John;  Poak,  Thomas;  Poak,  James  Smith  ;  Rodman,  Hugh  ; 
Wilson,  Peter;  Wilson,  John;  Young,  John. 

Letters  of  administration  on  Patrick  Watson's  estate,  were  granted 
on  the  23d  of  July,  of  this  year;  and  his  death,  perhaps,  occurred 
during  May,  when  the  stroke  on  the  Valley,  spoken  of  in  Captain 
Matthew  Smith's  letter,  was  made.  His  cabin  was  on  a  slight  eleva- 
tion, a  little  east  of  the  new  school-house  (1877)  at  White  Springs, 

■Philip  SeeboUl  said,  in  1872,  that  George  Etzweiler  was  buried  on  John  Oook's 
place,  now  Peter  Slear's,  in  Limestone  township. 


1780.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  iSg 

Limestone  township.  The  site  was  pointed  out  to  me,  by  Jacob 
M.  Shively,  whose  grandfather,  Christian  Shively,  showed  him  the 
spot,  and  told  the  story.  He  said  he  heard  the  firing,  and  went  to 
Watson's  cabin,  and  found  Mrs.  Watson,  Patrick's  mother,  lying 
on  the  floor,  shot,  and  a  dog  licking  her  scalped  head.  She  could 
only  make  motions  in  reply  to  his  inquiry,  intimating  that  Patrick 
had  gone  down  the  run.  He  went  out  after  him,  and  found  him 
near  the  White  spring.  Watson  did  not  know  he  was  shot  until, 
stooping  down  by  the  spring  to  drink,  the  water  ran  out  of  his 
wound.  He  died  within  two  hours.  He  and  his  mother  were 
among  the  first  buried  in  the  Lewis  grave-yard.  He  was  an  uncle 
of  David,  William,  and  John  C.  Watson. 

Friday,  1 4th  July,  Baltzer  Klinesmith,  who  resided  then  on  George 
Sholtz's  land,  lately  owned  by  John  Byler,  on  the  second  road  south 
of  Dreisbach's  church  leading  to  Jenkins'  mills,  and  had  a  small 
clearing  upon  it,  was  killed.  The  versions  of  this  story  are  quite 
numerous.  The  one  in  the  "History  of  the  West  Branch,"  was 
furnished  by  George  A.  Snyder,  Esquire,  deceased.  The  dates  I 
get  from  the  widow's  pension  papers,  and  an  old  certificate,  in  which 
it  is  further  stated  that  he  was  a  private  in  Captain  Joseph  Green's 
company,  Lieutenant  John  Cryder,  in  Colonel  Kelly's  battalion. 
My  version  is  from  one  who  often  heard  Mrs.  Chambers  tell  it  her- 
self. She,  with  her  father  and  sister,  went  out  in  the  field  to  work. 
He,  seeing  some  squirrels,  sent  Baltzer,  junior,  back  for  his  gun. 
Meanwhile,  the  Indians  came  along  and  captured  the  old  man  and 
the  two  girls,  Elizabeth  and  Catherine. 

Just  where  the  road  winds  around  the  hill,  above  Heimbach's 
blacksmith  shop,  on  the  road  to  New  Berlin,  they  killed  Klinesmith. 
Mrs.  Dreic-bach,  the  Judge's  mother,  pointed  out  the  place.  She 
helped  carry  his  body  down,  and  they  buried  it  in  the  Dreisbach 
church-yard. 

The  Indians  then  made  their  way  to  the  spring,  north  of  New 
Berlin,  where  they  left  the  girls  in  charge  of  an  old  man  of  their 
party,  and  went  down  Dry  valley.  After  a  little  while  it  began  to 
rain,  and  the  Indian  motioned  the  girls  to  gather  brush  to  cover  the 
flour  bag.  He  laid  down  under  a  tree,  with  the  tomahawk  under 
his  head.  The  girls,  in  passing  with  brush,  worked  it  gradually 
from  under  him  as  he  dozed.     Elizabeth  picked  up  the  tomahawk. 


igo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [J780. 

and  made  a  motion  to  her  sister  to  run.     She  then  sank  it  into  the 
old  man's  head.     The  old  man  yelled  fearfully,  and  the  girls  ran. 
By  this  time  the  Indians  were  on  their  return,  and  heard  the  old 
man  yell.     They  pursued  the  girls  and  fired  on  Catherine,  just  as 
she  was  springing  over  a  fallen  tree.     The  ball  entered  below  the 
right  shoulder-blade  and  came  out  at  her  side.     She  had   the  scars 
until  her  dying  day,  as  large  as  a  half  dollar.     She  rolled  herself 
under  the  tree,  and  the  Indians  passed  over  her,  in  pursuit  of  the 
sister.     Elizabeth,  being  active,  reached  Beatty's  harvest  field.     The 
men  ran  to  their  rifles  and  pursued  the  Indians.     When  they  came 
pretty  near  Catherine,  one  of  the  men,  supposing  an  Indian  in  am- 
bush, was  about  firing,  when  she  pulled  off  her  apron  and  waved  it. 
They  found  her  much  weakened  from  loss  of  blood,  but  she  soon 
recovered.     Philip  Pontius,  still  living,  told  me  that  the  Indians 
were  going  to  Beatty's,  and  George  Rote,  who  was  a  lame  man,  but 
great  on  a  halloo,  frightened  them  back,  by  hallooing  to  an  imagin- 
ary company  to  surround  the   black  rebels.     Klinesmith's  widow 
drew  a  pension  as  late  as  1 819,  at  New  Berlin.     "  Elizabeth  married 
JohnBoal,  moved  to  French  creek,  near  Meadville  first,  and,  in  1843, 
was  still  living  in  Ohio  or  Indiana,  her  husband,  being  one  of  those 
restless  spirits,  who  fancy  that  the  land  is  over-crowded,  when  the 
population  exceeds  one  to  every  ten  square  miles,  and  she,  from  her 
courage  and  energy,  being  an  excellent  second  to  a  man  always  ex- 
posed to  the  perils  of  frontier  life." — Manuscript  of  G.  H.  Snyder. 
Katy,  as  she  was  called,  first  married  Daniel  Campbell,  a  revolu- 
tionary soldier,  and  had,  by  him,  two  children,  John,  who    died 
near  Mifflinburg,  and  Ann,    who  married  Robert  Barber.     They 
removed  West,  and  are  now  both  dead.     Katy  married  next  Robert 
Chambers,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  the  first  wife  of  John  A. 
Vanvalzah,  deceased.     Notwithstanding    her   wound,  she  survived 
two  husbands.      My  informant,  William  M.  Vanvalzah,  tells  me  that 
when  a  boy,  many  a  night  he  heard  her  and  old  Captain  Thompson 
talk  over  the  events  of  their  early  life.     Klinesmith's  land,  in  Lewis 
township,  was  valued  in  1810,  Robert  Chambers  taking  one  portion, 
and  Baltzer  Klinesmith,  junior,  the  other.     Baltzer,  junior,  sold  his 
land,  some  tliirty  years  since,  to  Christian  Mensch,  and  moved  to  a 
lot  owned  by  his  wife,  near  Hartleton,  where  he  died,  and  is  buried 
in  the  Laurelton  grave-yard.     His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Melchior 


1780]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jgi 

Smith,  their  children,  David,  Samuel,  John  Melchior,  daughters  Mary 
Ann  and  Margaret,  who  married  Messrs.  Stover,  in  Centre  county. 

Catherine  married Miller.     Martin  Trester,  a  few  years  after, 

found  a  rifle  near  the  spring,  supposed  to  belong  to  the  old  Indian. 

Traditions  of  the  Valley  have  always  connected  the  following 
incident  with  the  pursuit  of  the  murderers  of  Klinesmith ;  and  the 
date  mentioned  in  the  note  below  probably  confirms  that  belief: 

Van  Campen,  in  his  narrative,  see  Meginness,  page  277,  says  that 
"in  the  summer  of  1781^  a  man  was  taken  prisoner,  in  Buffalo 
Valley,  and  made  his  escape.  He  reported  there  were  about  three 
hundred  Indians  on  the  Sinnemahoning.  I  was  then  a  lieutenant 
in  Captain  Robinson's  company.  Colonel  Hunter  selected  a  com- 
pany of  five  to  reconnoitre.  Captain  Campbell,  Peter  and  Michael 
Grove,  Lieutenant  Cramer,  and  myself.  We  took  with  us  three 
days'  provision,  and  went  up  the  West  Branch,  with  much  caution 
and  care.  We  reached  the  Sinnemahoning,  but  found  no  tracks. 
A  little  below  it  we  discovered  a  smoke,  and  that  there  was  a  large 
party  of  them. 

"  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  we  new  primed  our  rifles,  sharpened  our 
flints,  and  examined  our  tomahawk  handles  ;  and,  all  being  ready,  we 
waited  with  great  impatience  until  they  all  lay  down.  The  night  was 
warm,  and  as  we  advanced  upon  them  in  the  utmost  silence,  rifle  in 
one  hand,  tomahawk  in  the  other,  we  found  some  of  them  rolled  in 
their  blankets,  a  rod  or  two  from  the  fire.  Having  got  among  them, 
we  first  handled  our  tomahawks.  They  arose  like  a  dark  cloud. 
We  now  fired  on  them  and  raised  the  war-yell.  They  took  to  fight 
in  the  utmost  confusion.  We  remained  masters  of  the  ground  and 
of  all  their  plunder.  It  was  a  party  of  twenty-five  or  thirty,  which 
had  been  down  as  low  as  Penn's  creek,  and  had  killed  and  scalped 
two  or  three  families.  We  found  several  scalps  of  different  ages, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  domestic  cloth,  which  we  took  to  Northum- 
berland, and  distributed  among  the  distressed  who  had  escaped  the 
tomahawk." 

'Van  Campen  made  a  mistake  in  the  year,  no  doubt,  and  his  description  would 
lead  one  to  believe  more  than  two  Indians  were  killed.  Grove  speaks  only  of  two, 
and  the  following  item,  in  the  State  Treasurer's  account,  September  30, 1780,  indi- 
cates that  Grove  was  correct;  Oash  paid  Robert  Martin,  for  Jacob  Creamer,  Peter 
Grove,  William  Campbell,  and  Michael  Grove,  for  two  Indian  scalps,  £1,876.  The 
same  account  September  29,  ten  head  of  cattle  for  the  Commissioners  of  Purchases, 
£10,400,  shows  the  immense  depreciation  of  currency  at  this  time. 


ig2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1780. 

There  were  four  of  the  Grove  brothers,  Wendell,  Adam,  who  lived 
where  George  Wolfe  now  lives,  in  Mortonsville,  Michael,  who  lived 
on  the  back  road  to  Miffiinburg,  and  Peter.  Peter  disappears  very 
early  from  our  Valley.  The  only  notices  I  can  find  of  him  are  the 
mixture  of  truth  and  fiction,  in  the  Appendix  to  Meginness'  History. 
Michael  lived  within  the  recollection  of  many  of  my  readers.  He 
died  in  Nippenose,  south  of  Jersey  Shore,  in  September,  1827,  aged 
seventy,  and  was  brought  home,  and  buried  in  the  Dreisbach  grave- 
yard. Meginness  says  he  was  attended  by  Doctor  Davidson  in  his 
last  illness,  and  gave  a  vivid  account  of  the  engagement  above  spoken 
of.  Before  they  commenced  the  attack,  an  old  Indian  annoyed  them 
very  much.  He  was  troubled  with  a  severe  cough,  and  frecjuently 
rose  up,  and  looked  carefully  around,  seeming  to  anticipate  danger. 
At  length  the  old  man  fell  asleep,  and  they  commenced  creeping  up, 
intending  to  use  their  tomahawks  first.  One  of  them,  unexpectedly, 
crawled  over  an  Indian,  who  lay  some  distance  from  the  rest,  and 
the  old  man  rose  up  at  this  moment.  Michael,  with  a  powerful  blow 
with  his  hatchet,  clove  the  old  man's  skull,  and,  striking  it  into  the 
back  of  another,  could  not  withdraw  it,  when  tlie  Indian  drew  him 
over  the  bank  into  the  creek,  where,  however,  he  succeeded  in  kill- 
ing him.  Some  of  the  Indians  got  on  to  the  other  side  of  the  creek, 
and  commenced  firing,  and  they  had  to  retire.  They  waded  down 
the  creek,  taking  to  the  hills,  and,  thence  over  to  the  Bald  Eagle 
ridge.  John  Beeber  describes  Michael  as  having  an  eye  like  a  hawk, 
and  being  able  to  travel  at  night,  even  in  his  old  age,  nearly  as  well  as 
in  day  time.  He  told  Beeber  that  Joseph  Groninger,  of  White  Deer, 
was  along,  and  going  up,  they  slopped  at  James  Ellis',  uncle  of  Wil- 
liam Cox  Ellis,  and  took  their  dinner  with  their  rifles  on  their  knees. 

Michael  left  three  children,  John,  Sarah,  married  to  Samuel  Lutz, 

and  • to  Jacob  Smith.      To  the  two  girls  he  gave  farms  in 

Nippenose,  and  he  was  there  visiting  when  he  died.  His  son  John 
is  now  dead.  He  left  a  son,  Michael,  and  daughter,  Esther.  Mich- 
ael also  died  on  the  old  farm,  where  his  grandfather  lived.  Esther 
married  Enoch  Kauffman.  Michael's  son,  Peter,  still  lives  in  West 
Buffalo,  and  other  descendants  are  in  the  same  township. 

Adam  lived  on  the  Nesbit  property,  which  he  sold  to  Thomas 
Nesbit,  in  1822.  His  son,  Samuel,  married  a  sister  of  the  late  Joseph 
Glass,  and  is  the  father  of  Simon,  Joseph,  William,  Mrs.  Jacob  Parks, 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  igj 

and  Wesley,  (who  was  starved  to  death  in  one  of  the  rebel  prisons.) 
Samuel  moved  West,  where  his  family  has  become  wealthy,  and  in- 
fluential at  the  bar  and  other  pursuits. 

In  July,  George  Row,  of  Penn's  township,  was  wounded  in  the 
breast,  at  Fought's  mill,  (near  Mififlinburg,)  and  died  in  eight 
hours.  He  left  a  widow,  Mary  M.,  who  drew  a  pension  for  many 
years  .afterward. 

The  original  Barber's  mill,  on  Penn's  creek,  was  built  this  year  by 
Adam  Smith.  It  was  long  known  as  David  Smith's  mill.  The  latter 
sold  to  Barber  and  Heise,  who  built  the  present  structure. 

8th  September,  General  Potter  marched  a  body  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  men  to  Fort  Swartz,  and  then  went  up  to  Colonel  Kelly, 
who  lay  at  the  mouth  of  White  Deer  creek.  Fort  Swartz  was  most 
likely  Peter  Swartz's,  who  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Honor- 
able George  F.  Miller.  Day's  Historical  Collections  says  this  fort 
was  a  mile  above  Milton ;  but  as  General  Potter  says  nothing  of 
crossing  the  river,  it  was  no  doubt  the  block-house  at  Peter  Swartz's. 

24th  September,  Henry  McCracken,  private  in  Captain  William 
Clark's  company,  killed.     He  left  a  widow,  Mary,  and  five  children. 


irsi. 


Narrative  of  Captain'  James  Thompson — Captain  Campleton  Killed — 
Letter  from  General  Potter — -Story  of  the  Emerick  Family — Roll 
OF  Peter  Grove's  and  MgGrady's  Companies — Christian  Hetrick 
AND  David   Storm  Killed. 

EMBER  of  Council,  General  James  Potter.     Assembly, 

William  Maclay,  William   Montgomery,  and   Colonel 

William   Cooke.     Presiding   Justice,  Frederick  Antes. 

Sheriff,  James   Crawford.      Treasurer,   William   Gray. 

County  Commissioners,   William  Antes,  James  Espy,   and  Daniel 

Montgomery. 

13 


ig4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1781. 

On  the  nth  of  April,  David  Kennedy  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  the  Land  Office,  Colonel  Francis  Johnston^  Receiver  General, 
and  John  Lukens,  Surveyor  General. 

Buffalo  :  Constable,  Henry  Oilman  ;  Supervisors,  Abel  Rees  and 
John  Reighard  ;  Overseers,  Michael  Hessler  and  John  Clark. 

loth  March,  Saturday,  at  ten,  a.  m.,  Black  Ann,  for  larceny  from 
Eleanor  Green,  was  whipped  at  the  public  whipping-post,  in  Sun- 
bury — twenty  lashes  on  her  bare  back,  well  laid  on. 

March  31,  Peter  Grove,  of  Buffalo,  commissioned  lieutenant  of 
the  rangers  ;   Samuel  Quinn,  ensign.     In  1 788,  the  latter  was  deputy 
surveyor,  and  Quinn's  run,  in  Clinton  county,  was  called  from  his 
camping  there  during  that  year. 
■   May  3,  fast  day,  by  order  of  Congress. 

June  26,  William  Gray,  Esquire,  appointed  paymaster  of  the 
militia. 

PenrCs  Township  Residents,  dr'c.  :  Anderson,  William,  tan-yard ; 
Arnold,  Casper;  Arnold,  Widow;  Campbell,  Clary,  (tenant  on 
Charles  Gemberling's  place,)  he  was  from  Bald  Eagle  settlement; 
Cripps,  John;  Dillman,  Andrew;  Espert,  Widow;  Graybill,  John, 
non-juror;  Gast,  Christian;  Grow,  Godfrey;  Gillen,  William; 
Hafflich,  Jacob ;  Heiner,  Frederick ;  Hauser,  John  ;  Hessler,  Wil 
liam;  Hassinger,  Frederick;  Jordan,  Benjamin;  Jost,  Widow; 
Kester,  Peter ;  Kerk,  Michael ;  Kinney,  Jacob ;  Kohler,  Andrew ; 
Lepley,  Jacob ;  Miller,  Adam  ;  Miller,  Simon  ;  Maddox,  Richard  ; 
Merkel,  Peter;  Meraby,  Edward;  Pickard,  John:  Potter,  James, 
two  slaves;  Repass,  Jacob;  Showers,  Michael,  tenant  of  Jacob  Stees; 
Stephen,  Adam;  Shaw,  William;  Shetterly,  John;  Witmer,  Peter; 
Woods,  Joseph. 

In  Buffalo  :  Antes,  Philip ;  Baker,  John  ;  Bickle,  Widow ;  Blair, 
Samuel;  Boatman,  Claudius;  Coon,  John;  Dean,  David;  Fergu- 
son, James;  Green,  Joseph,  two  grist  and  one  saw-mill;  Holman, 
Eli;  Houghton,  John,  tenant  of  Samuel  Maclay;  Keen,  Jacob, 
tenant  of  John  Aurand ;  Knipper,  Paul ;  Klinesmith,  Widow ; 
Laughlin,  Widow;  McAdam,  William;  McDonald,  Widow;  Reem, 
Nicholas;  Rezner,  John;  Templeton,  Widow;  Trester,  William; 
Vandyke,  John ;  Watson,  James,  saw-mill,  at  Seebold's  now. 

White  Deer — Single  men:  Ammon,  Philip;  Caldwell,  James; 
Clendenning,  John  ;  Collins,  Daniel ;  Crawford,  Robert ;  Gamble, 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  igj 

Charles;  Gibson,  James;  Hamel,  Charles;  Hayes,  David;  Hood, 
Moses ;  Huston,  Samuel ;  McCartney,  Robert ;  McKinney,  James ; 
McLaughlin,  John;  Montgomery,  Samuel;  Murray,  VVilham;  Poak, 
John;  Tannehill,  John. 

The  ejectment  tor  White  Deer  mills  property  was  resumed.  The 
suit  is  brought  by  Vannost,  and  has  this  distorted  title  :  "  Timothy 
Macabees,  lessee  of  James  Claypooie,  vs.  Judias  Iscariot,  with  notice 
to  Catherine  Smith,  widow  in  possession.  '  To  iNovember  term  we 
have  the  commencement  of  a  series  of  buits  between  Tudwig  Lierr 
and  Christian  Van  Gundy,  which,  after  many  years,  ended  in  tne 
pecuniary  ruin  of  the  latter.  It  was  brought  to  iSovember  term, 
lessee  of  Christian  Van  Gundy  e/x.  Thomas  Troublesome,  lessee  of 
Ludwig  Derr,  with  notice  to  Christian  Hettrick,  tenant  in  possession- 
It  astonishes  a  lawyer  of  the  present  how  our  predecessors  managed 
to  keep  cases  so  long  in  court.  Van  Gundy's  application  had  not 
the  shadow  of  chance  against  Derr's  title ;  yet  the  contest  went  on 
for  years,  until  Van  Gundy's  money  gave  out.  This  suit  was  for  the 
present  site  of  Lewisburg. 

Captain  dames  Thompson's  Narrative, 

In  the  manuscript  journal  of  the  late  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire, 
under  date, of  June  14,  1832,  is  the  following  entry  :  "Old  Captain 
James  Thompson  was  with  us  last  night.  He  told  us  a  good  part  of 
his  adventures  when  with  the  Indians.  He  appeared  not  to  wish 
to  tell  the  story.  1  got  it  out  of  him,  only  in  answers  to  questions." 
The  narrative  was  entered  in  my  father's  journal.  I  have  supple- 
mented by  the  article  of  Elizabeth  Gundaker,  now  Dale,  niece  of 
Captain  Thompson,  in  the  Lancaster  Intelligencer,  1842. 

"In  March,  1781,  I  was  going  from  this  town  (Lewisburg)  up 
to  my  home,  on  Spruce  run,  preparatory  to  following  my  wife  and 
family  down  to  Penn's  creek,  whither,  i  had  taken  them  for  safety. 
On  the  road,  between  John  Linn's  old  place  and  Colonel  Kelly's, 
I  was  captured  by  four  Indians.  When  we  came  to  the  hollow, 
which  is  now  cleared  by  Thomas  Iddings,  they  discovered  a  fresh 
track  in  the  mud,  and  one  of  them  hallooed  '  squaw.'  Two  of  them 
set  off  on  a  run,  the  remaining  two  staid  with  me,  one  walking 
before  and  the  other  behind.     I  soon  heard  the  scream  of  a  woman. 


796  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1781. 

whereupon,  the  one  behind  me  gave  me  a  punch  in  the  back  witli 
the  butt  of  his  gun,  and  said  'waugh' — run.  We  all  started  off  on  a 
run,  and  when  we  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  saw  the  father  of  the 
girl  fall,  and  the  Indians  seize  her.  She  had  lost  a  shoe  in  the  race. 
She  was  Mary  Young,  the  daughter  of  Mathew  Young,  who  lived 
on  Spruce  run.  William  Hayes  now  owns  the  place  ;  he  bought  it 
as  James  Black's  property,  a  few  years  ago,  (now,  1877,  Gabriel 
Huntingdon's.)  We  crossed  the  White  Deer  mountains,  north  of 
the  Valley,  and  camped  the  second  night  on  Lycoming  creek.  They 
tied  me,  with  my  arms  behind  me,  to  two  grubs.  I  managed  to  get 
the  cords  off,  after  they  got  to  sleep ;  two  of  them  laid  on  one  side 
of  the  fire,  near  me,  and  two  on  the  other,  with  the  girl.  I  tried  to 
get  one  of  the  tomahawks,  but  they  were  lying  upon  them.  I  then 
got  a  stone,  they  had  been  using  to  pound  corn  with,  got  on  my  knees 
near  one  of  them,  and  prepared  to  give  him  a  mortal  stroke.  I 
intended  striking  him  on  the  temple,  but  he  had  a  blanket  wrapped 
around  his  head,  and  I  struck  too  high.  The  Indian  gave  a  yell  and 
awoke  the  rest.  I  started  to  run,  but  the  cord  stretched  between 
the  two  grubs,  caught  me  about  the  middle,  antl  in  trying  to  get 
around  it,  one  of  the  Indians  caught  me  by  the  coat  collar,  and 
in  the  struggle,  tore  it  clear  down  to  the  middle.  He  drew  his 
tomahawk  to  strike  me,  but  stopped,  and  addressed  the  wounded 
one  in  their  language.  Drew  it  the  second  and  third  time,  when  I 
was  sure  I  would  get  it;  but  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  to  try  to 
catch  it,  and  wrest  it  from  him.  They  then  got  a  gourd,  put  shot  in 
it,  and  tied  it  to  my  waist.  This  was  my  death  warrant.  I  could 
have  readily  escaped  myself,  but  I  was  anxious  to  rescue  Mar}. 
After  that,  they  tied  me  so  tight,  I  lossed  all  feeling  in  my  arms 
and  hands.  Before  we  got  to  Towanda,  one  of  the  Indians  shot  a 
turkey,  took  out  the  entrails,  and  roasted  them  on  a  stick,  and  gave 
them  to  us.  It  was  very  delicious,  as  we  had  but  a  few  grains  of 
corn  a  day  to  eat.  One  of  them  shot  a  dipper-duck,  and  skinning 
it,  after  making  an  opening  at  the  belly,  slipi)ed  it  over  the  hurt 
man's  head  for  a  night-cap. 

"  When  we  got  to  Towanda,  the  Indians  became  careless,  supposing 
there  was  no  danger  of  my  running  away.  They  made  me  gather 
wood  for  the  fire,  and  as  I  returned  each  time  I  slipped  a  {^w  grains 
of  corn  out  of  the  kettle,  and  every  load  I  wandered  further  from 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  igy 


camp.  At  last,  seeing  no  one  looking  my  way,  I  started  with  twenty- 
two  grains  of  corn  for  a  provision  for  a  journey  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred miles.  I  could  have  escaped  before,  but  I  could  not  bear  the 
idea  of  leaving  the  girl  with  them.  Her  hardships  were  fearful. 
Often  her  clothes  were  frozen  solid  aRer  wading  the  creeks.  We  had 
encamped  that  night  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  by  a  stream  of  water.  She 
urged  me  to  leave  her,  and  finally  I  followed  her  advice.  I  carried 
two  loads,  I  think,  still  going  further  up  the  hill.  I  took  a  different 
direction  from  home  at  first.  I  stepped  upon  a  rotten  stick,  which 
made  a  noise,  and  then,  mistaking  the  sound  of  two  trees  rubbed 
together  by  the  wind,  for  the  Indians,  I  ran  with  all  my  might,  and 
reached  a  pond,  in  which  I  buried  myself  up  to  the  head.  Finding 
the  Indians  did  not  come  that  way,  I  proceeded,  keeping  upon 
the  tops  of  the  mountains.  One  night  I  spent  in  a  hollow  tree.  At 
another  time  I  came  very  near  getting  into  an  Indian  encampment 
before  I  was  aware  of  it.  I  saw  the  Indians  pass  between  me  and  the 
fire.  At  another  time,  coming  upon  a  camp,  the  Indians  hallooed. 
I  felt  certain  I  was  discovered,  but  squatted  down  among  the  bushes, 
and  when  they  began  to  cut  wood  I  made  off.  At  one  place  I  found 
two  walnuts,  at  another  the  bone  of  a  deer,  which  I  cracked,  and 
sucked  the  marrow.  This,  with  the  corn,  was  all  the  provision  I  had, 
and,  in  crossing  Lycoming  creek,  I  nearly  drowned  from  excessive 
weakness.  I  struck  the  West  Branch  a  few  rods  above  where  we 
crossed  going  up,  and  found  one  of  the  canoes  lying  on  the  bank, 
as  the  river  had  fallen.  I  was  so  weak  I  could  not  lift  it  in,  but,. by 
means  of  a  handspike  and  some  rollers,  I  managed  to  get  it  in.  After 
I  got  it  in,  I  discovered  the  other  canoe  sunk,  which  I  ladled  out, 
and  lashed  to  the  other.  When  I  got  opposite  Watsontown,  I  was  so 
weak  I  could  only  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  and  wave  my 
hands.  Fortunately  I  was  here  noticed,  and  the  people  came  to  my 
relief.  They  considerately  fed  me  with  sweet  milk  only,  until  I  got 
stronger,  but  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  tell  them  about  my 
adventures." 

Mary  Yoiing  they  carried  with  them  to  their  town.  They  set  her 
to  hoeing  corn.  An  old  negro,  who  was  also  a  prisoner,  told  her  to 
dig  up  the  beans  planted  with  the  corn,  and  they  would  sell  her  to 
the  English.  She  did  as  she  was  advised,  and  they  thought  her  too 
stupid  to  learn  to  work,  and  sold  her.      She  said  two  of  the  Indians 


iqS  annals  of  buffalo  valley.  [1781. 

pursued  Captain  Thompson  part  of  two  days.  The  wounded  Indian 
left  them  shortly  after  they  got  out.  She  supposed  he  died,  as  he 
was  very  much  hurt.  Mary  was  sent  to  Montreal,  and  sold.  Her 
purchaser's  name  was  Young,  and,  on  tracing  the  relationship,  they 
found  they  were  cousins.  She  remained  there  until  after  the  war, 
and  then  returned  to  her  friends  in  Buffalo  Valley.  Tradition  says 
her  health  was  very  much  undermined,  and  she  died  soon  after.  She 
was  still  living  in  1787,  when  her  father  died ;  but  I  can  trace  her  no 
further.  But  for  the  entry  in  my  father's  journal,  her  history  would 
have  been  as  evanescent  as  her  foot-prints,  which  revealed  her  pres- 
ence to  the  Indians. 

Captain  Thompson  removed  his  family  to  Chester  county,  where 
they  remained  until  after  the  Indian  troubles  were  all  over.  They 
then  returned,  and  he  purchased  of  the  widow  Dempsey  the  place 
now  owned  by  Jacob  Ziebach,  on  Spruce  run,  in  Buffalo,  and  resided 
there  until  the  year  1832,  when  he  went  to  reside  with  his  son-in-law, 
Boyd  Smith,  (son  of  Gideon  Sniith,  who  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Little 
Buffalo,)  near  Jersey  Shore,  where  he  died,  February  9,  1837,  aged 
ninety-three  years  nine  months  and  nine  days.  When  ten  years  of 
age,  he  was  with  his  father  at  Braddock's  defeat.  He  was  a  remark- 
able man  in  old  age,  often  walking  from  Jersey  Shore  down  into  Buf- 
alo  Valley,  a  welcome  guest  in  every  house  from  Pine  to  Penn's  creek. 
His  son  William  married  Susan  Linn,  in  1804,  and  removed  to  Sugar 
Creek,  Venango  county.  Their  son  James  died  from  an  explosion, 
which  took  place  in  his  store,  in  1833.  He  was  carrying  out  ashes 
in  an  empty  keg,  as  he  supposed,  but  which  had  several  pounds  of 
powder  in  it.  Ann  married  John  B.  McCalmont,  Esquire,  nephew 
of  old  Judge  McCalmont.  She  died  in  1849.  Johri  Linn  Thompson 
died  in  Venango,  leaving  a  family.  William  resides  in  New  Brighton, 
Beaver  county. 

In  a  letter  to  General  Potter,  Colonel  Hunter  states  that  Captain 
Thomas  Kempling,  as  he  writes  it,  and  his  eldest  son,  were  killed 
by  the  Indians,  at  the  mouth  of  Muncy  creek,  in  March,  1781. 
In  the  petition  of  his  widow,  who  writes  her  name  Mary  Campleton, 
presented  to  the  Assembly,  September  23,  1784,  she  says :  "My 
husband  and  son,  with  others,  went  on  a  tour  of  duty  up  the  West 
Branch,  early  in  the  spring  of  1781,  and  lying  one  night  at  the 
mouth  of  Muncy  creek,  in  the  morning  the  savages  came  on  them, 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  igg 

when  my  unfortunate  husband  and  son,  with  one  WilHam  Campble, 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  all  the  cruelties  and  barbarities  that  savages  could 
inflict,  leaving  your  petitioner  and  six  children.  We  were  driven 
from  house  and  home,  and  so  reduced  that  I  am  unable  to  return  to 
the  place  we  had  improved  upon." 

About  this  time,  John  Shively  who  lived  on  the  place  now  owned 
by  R.  V.  B.  Lincoln,  Esquire,  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  in  the 
meadow,  in  the  rear  of  Esquire  Lincoln's  house.  He  was  never 
heard  of  afterwards.  He  left  a  widow  and  sons.  Christian  and 
Frederick,  who  owned  the  place  until  the  year  1804.  His  widow 
married  Philip  Mann,  who  lived  in  the  Valley  up  to  1805. 

George  Rote  and  his  sister  Rody,  aged  about  twelve  and  fourteen, 
were  taken  at  Mifflinburg,  where  their  father,  George  Rote  (or 
Rhodes)  lived.  They  were  separated  and  carried  into  the  Corn- 
planter's  country.  When  peace  was  proclaimed  they  were  liberated, 
and  met  at  a  furnace,  near  Clarion,  Pennsylvania,  and  came  back 
together.  Rody  married  James  Ben,  and  they  moved  to  Centre 
county.  They  were  uncle  and  aunt  to  the  late  Captain  John  Rote, 
who  never  could  hviar  of  an  Indian  in  latter  times  without  getting 
into  a  passion.  Jacob  and  Conrad  Caderman  were  captured  at  the 
same  time.  The  former  told  my  informant  that  Limestone  hill 
seemed  full  of  Indians  ;  that  he  had  a  gun  and  fired  into  the  ground^ 
to  indicate  that  they  surrendered.  He  said  he  liked  Indian  life 
so  well  that  he  would  have  remained  among  them,  but  for  his  wife 
and  children.  Conrad  played  stupid,  and  did  all  the  mischief  he 
could.  They  soon  got  tired  of  him,  and  sold  him  to  the  English  for 
a  five  gallon  keg  of  whisky.  They  both  returned  and  lived  long 
in  the  Valley.  James  Ben  lived  on  a  place  adjoining  Philip  Fish- 
burn,  now  in  Spring  Creek,  Centre  county.  His  wife  died  many 
years  ago,  and  he  subsequently  married  a  widow  Murphy. 

In  the  life  of  Rev.  John  Dietrich  Aurand,  Harbaugh's  "Fathers," 
mention  is  made  of  his  return  from  the  army  early  this  year ;  that 
his  mother,  Mrs.  John  Aurand,  had  died  but  a  short  time  before  his 
return,  and  amid  the  tenderest  longings  to  see  her  son  once  more 
before  her  departure.  A  deep  sadness  took  possession  of  the  young 
soldier's  spirit  when  he  found  his  mother  no  more  among  the  living. 
He  often  went  to  her  grave  to  weep  and  pray.  She  was  buried  on 
a  gentle  knoll  on  the  west  side  of  the  present  road,  and  on  the  south 


200  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   yALLEV.  [1781. 

side  of  Turtle  creek,  near  the  mouth  of  tlie  stream,  under  an  aged 
yellow  pine,  in  the  midst  of  a  clump  of  white  pines  of  smaller 
growth. 

Tradition  has  it  that  a  number  of  people  were  buried  here  before 
and  during  the  Revolution.  Bickle,  who  was  killed  at  Henry  Mertz's 
place,  is  said  to  have  been  buried  here.  In  my  earliest  recollection 
it  went  by  the  name  of  the  old  Indian  burying-ground.  It  is  now, 
however,  a  cleared  field,  (1872,)  and  all  marks  of  its  former  use 
probably  obliterated. 

SuNBERY,  April  \2,  1781. 

Sir  :  I  arrived  at  my  house  on  Sunday  last,  and  on  Monday  I 
came  to  this  pleace,  and  since,  I  have  maid  a  visite  to  difrent  parts 
of  the  frunteers,  who  I  find  in  great  disstress,  numbers  of  them 
flying  for  their  lives.  At  this  early  season  of  the  year,  the  enemy 
has  maid  five  different  strookes  on  our  frunteers,  since  the  2 2d  of 
March.  On  the  sixth  instant,  they  fiered  on  an  old  man,  his  son,  and 
daughter.  The  boy  was  shott  ded,  and  the  Indians  imedatly  maid 
a  prisoner  of  the  young  woman.  The  old  man  had  a  stick  in  his 
hand,  with  which  he  nobley  defended  himself  against  one  of  the 
Indians,  who  had  a  tomhack  and  maid  the  fellow  drope  his  wapon. 
Col.  Kelly,  with  a  few  of  his  neighbours,  was  in  a  house  at  a  little 
distance.  On  hearing  the  enemy  guns  go  oif,  run  to  the  pleace, 
and  obleged  the  enemy  to  retreat,  leving  the  young  woman  there 
prisner,  and  our  brave  old  Irishman,  and  his  stick  behind  them,  and 
all  there  blankets.  They  out  run  Col.  Kelly  and  his  party,  and  got 
off  as  usile. 

On  Sabath  day  last,  the  eight  instant,  in  the  evening,  they  came 
to  the  house  of  one  Durmes,  about  five  miles  from  this  pleace. 
Immedatly  on  there  entring  they  house,  they  shot  Dunn  and  tooke 
one  Capt.  Solomons  a  prisoner.  There  was  four  weemen  and  a 
number  of  children  in  the  house.  They  plundered  the  house  of 
every  thing  that  was  vallibel.  But  what  is  surprising,  they  went  off 
with  Captd.  Solomon  and  there  plunder,  leving  behind  the  weeman 
and  children.  This  hapened  leat  in  the  evening.  The  next  day 
they  were  persued  but  not  come  up  with. 

Capt.  Robinson  has  got  forty  men  enlisted  for  the  war,  but  many 
of  them  are  so  naked^  for  want  of  all  kinds  of  clothing,  that  the  can 
not  do  duty.     They  have  not  a  blanket  among  them  all.     I  know 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  201 

it  is  not  in  the  power  of  Council  to  provide  for  them  at  present,  but 
I  hope  they  will  as  soon  as  posable. 

I  most  sincely  wished  for  our  Assembly  to  have  been  with  me  in 
my  disagreeable  visit  along  the  much  disstressed  fruntiers.  I  have 
not  language  to  express  their  distresses. 

With  great  esteem,  your  humble  serv't, 

Jas.  Potter. 

Jos.  Reed,  Pres't. 

The  Story  of  the  Emerick  Family. 

On  the  farm  now  owned  by  Jacob  Seebold,  to  the  right  of  the 
road  going  to  New  Berlin,  after  passing  the  road  through  Chappel's 
Hollow,  lived  David  Emerick,  with  his  wife  and  four  children,  his 
other  daughter  being  down  the  country  at  that  time.  Emerick  had 
first  settled  upon  the  tract  where  the  Widow  Brown's  tavern  is,  or 
near  it,  before  the  revolutionary  war,  in  1773,  where  he  built  a 
house,  cleared  ten  acres  of  land,  planted  apple  trees,  &c.  He  sold 
this  place,  by  deed  dated  21st  June,  1780,  to  Daniel  Rees.  On  the 
15  th  of  November,  1779,  he  had  purchased  of  Andrew  Glen  and 
wife  the  tract  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  (on  which  he  subse- 
quently removed,  and  was  captured.)  for  ^2,925.  Here  he  cleared 
a  piece  and  built  a  cabin,  and  was  residing  in  April,  1781. 

Here  Henry  Bickel,  (who  lived  where  Henry  Mertz  now  does,)  was 
shot.  He  had  come  there  to  help  roll  logs.  His  family  was  not  dis- 
turbed. They  plundered  Emerick's  house  of  everything,  and  loaded 
him  down  with  baggage.  After  proceeding  a  little  way,  they  pulled 
down  a  sapling,  sharpened  the  end  of  it,  impaled  the  babe,  and  let  it 
fly  in  the  air.  Emerick  became  so  exhausted  with  his  load  that  he  sat 
down  upon  a  log,  and  refused  to  go  any  further.  One  of  the  In- 
dians sank  his  tomahawk  into  his  head,  and  killed  him.  One  of  the 
daughters  died  from  excessive  bleeding  at  the  nose,  on  the  journey 
through  the  wilderness.  They  were  taken  to  Niagara,^  and  the  wife 
and  daughters  married  Indians,  their  captors ;  and  many  years  ago 

1  Heckewelder  says,  that  the  Muncys  took  refuge  during  the  Revolution  in 
Canada,  and  remained  there.  It  is  reasonable,  to  conclude,  that  the  party  mak- 
ing this  descent  upon  the  Valley  were  of  its  aboriginal  inhabitants,  familiar 
with  its  localities,  and,  therefore,  able  to  enter  and  withdraw  with  comparative 
safety. 


202  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1781. 

Mrs.  Emerick  and  her  Indian  husband  came  to  Henry  Myer's,  near 
Harrisburg,  in  order  to  draw  some  money  coming  to  her  from  her 
grandfather's  estate.  Thus  far  I  had  the  story  from  Benjamin  Shell, 
(court  crier,)  of  New  Berlin.  Emerick  was  an  uncle  of  Mr.  Shell's 
mother,  and  the  Emericks  came  from  what  is  now  Dauphin  county, 
and  settled,  as  he  heard  the  story,  in  the  "Shamokin  country." 

My  own  researches  among  the  records  developed  the  dates  and 
the  rest  of  the  narrative.  There  is  on  record,  in  Sunbury,  a  letter  of 
attorney,  dated  the  12th  of  January,  1805,  recorded  in  deed  book 
M,  page  516,  the  parties  to  which  are  Archibald  Thompson,  of  Stam- 
ford, in  the  district  of  Niagara,  province  of  Upper  Canada,  and 
Catherine,  his  wife,  formerly  the  widow  of  David  Emerick,  to  James 
Thompson,  of  the  same  place,  authorizing  him  to  collect  their  inter- 
est in  the  rents,  issues,  and  profits  of  lands,  and  all  the  goods  and 
chattels,  late  of  David  Emerick  ;  and  also  from  the  heirs  and  execu- 
tors of  Conrad  Sharp,  of  Berks  county,  their  interest  in  his  estate. 
It  is  dated  at  Willoughby,  and  acknowledged  before  Archibald  Stew- 
art. It  is  recorded  on  the  4th  of  March,  1805.  It  is  followed  by 
a  letter  of  attorney  from  James  Thompson  to  George  Schoch,  to  sell 
and  convey  their  interest  in  a  tract  of  land,  \\\-  Buffalo  township, 
adjoining  lands  of  Hessler,  Hugh  Beatty,  George  Olds,  and  James 
Jenkins,  containing  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  acres,  "which 
they  hold  as  tenants,  in  common  with  John  Bickle,"  recited  to  be 
conveyed  by  Andrew  Glen  and  wife.  On  referring  to  deed  book 
C,  page  378,  it  will  appear  that  Andrew  Glen  and  Sarah,  his  wife, 
on  the  1 6th  of  November,  1779,  deeded  to  David  Emerick,  a  war- 
rant of  the  15th  of  December,  1772,  for  two  hundred  and  eighty 
acres,  consideration,  ^{^2,925.  It  describes  the  land  as  adjoining 
Thomas  Sutherland,  James  Hunter,  and  George  Olds. 

9th  August,  1786,  John  Aurand  appointed  guardian  of  Margaret 
and  Catherine  Emerick,  children  of  David  Emerick,  deceased.  Fi- 
nally there  is  a  release  recorded  at  Lewisburg,  dated  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1 81 6,  from  James  Thompson  to  George  Schoch,  which  recites 
that  David  Emerick  left  a  widow,  named  Catherine,  and  two  daugh- 
ters, Margaret,  intermarried  with  James  Thompson,  and  the  other 
intermarried  with  George  Bauder,  and  he,  Thompson,  releases  his 
wife's  share  of  David  Emerick's  estate,  amounting  to  $516  75.  So 
it  seems  that  the  wife,  and  at  least  one  of  the  daughters,  married 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  203 

their  captors,  who,  many  years  after,  came  back  and  received  their 
share  of  the  estate  of  the  man  they  murdered.  Mr.  Shell  said  Mrs. 
Emerick  was  infatuated  with  the  Indian  style  of  life,  and  endeavored 
to  persuade  some  of  her  female  relatives  to  go  off  with  them  when 
here.  The  recollection  of  one  of  the  old  inhabitants  of  the  Valley 
was,  that  they  came  here  in  grand  style,  on  horseback,  Mrs.  Emer- 
ick decorated  with  all  the  tinsel  of  Indian  dress. 

In  1825,  Bonham's  heirs  brought  an  ejectment  against  William 
Gibbons,  for  a  tract  of  land,  in  the  warrantee  name  of  David  Emer- 
ick, and,  to  sustain  their  title,  gave  in  evidence  a  deed,  dated  the 
2ist  of  June,  1780,  from  David  Emerick  to  Daniel  Rees,  under 
whom  Bonham  claimed.  The  evidence  on  the  trial  is  all  lost,  but 
from  some  manuscript  notes  taken  by  the  late  James  F.  Linn,  it 
appears  that  the  defense,  who  had  no  real' defense,  subpoenaed  all 
the  old  settlers  in  the  country  to  prove  that  David  Emerick  was  killed 
in  1778  or  1779,  from  which  the  lawyers  argued  the  deed  a  forgery, 
though  it  purported  to  be  acknowledged  before  Christopher  Gettig, 
Esquire.  We  are  unable  to  say  exactly,  but  think  this  was  a  dodge 
of  the  lawyers,  taken  upon  the  second  trial,  the  other  side,  Mr.  Bellas 
and  Hepburn  never  dreaming  of  parol  testimony  thus  affecting  their 
title.  Among  others  called  to  prove  that  Emerick  was  killed  prior 
to  the  date  of  the  deed,  was  Michael  Smith,  grandfather  of  A.  W. 
Smith,  Esquire.  He  said  "  I  was  living  in  the  place  where  I  am  now 
living  (1830  ^)  during  the  revolutionary  war.  There  was  a  massacre 
by  the  Indians  in  Dry  valley.  Henry  Bickle  was  killed ;  the  only 
one,  as  far  as  we  know.  David  Emerick  and  his  family  were  taken 
prisoners  on  the  same  day.  His  woman  came  in  afterward,  and 
said  Emerick  was  killed  on  the  road.  David  Emerick  never  appeared 
again.  It  was  three  years  afterward  when  his  wife  returned.  She 
was  afterward  married  to  Thompson,  in  York  State.  I  was  eight  or 
nine  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  massacre.  Bickle's  wife  had  a 
son,  about  four  months  after  his  murder.  He  is  now  in  court,  and 
his  name  is  Henry  Bickle.  I  was  born  in  1769.  I  saw  Henry 
Bickle  after  he  was  murdered.  My  father  lived  about  two  miles  from 
Bickle  at  that  time.  My  wife's  mother  and  Emerick's  wife's  mother 
were  sisters.  I  saw  Thompson  after  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Emerick. 
They  were  married  about  the  last  of  the  war,  or  in  it. 
Smith  lived  oa  Kunkle's  place,  west  of  Henry  Mertz. 


204  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1781. 

'^ Lee's  massacre  was  about  a  year  after  Emerick's.  It  was  in  Dry 
Valley,  and  about  the  time  of  the  general  runaway.  I  saw  Lee's  fam- 
ily all  lying  scalped.  Emerick  has  some  children.  I  never  saw  any 
of  them.  There  was  one  of  the  girls  down  below  at  the  time,  and 
was  at  my  house  about  a  year  ago.  Emerick  lived  near  the  hill,  not 
far  from  Hummel's  tavern,  in  Dry  Valley.  Emerick's  children  were 
all  taken,  except  the  one  below.  I  saw  Lees'  killed  in  the  house 
where  they  were  killed.  They  had  their  heads  all  scalped,  and  were 
laid  on  a  bundle  of  straw."  Jacob  Bower,  of  Union  township,  whose 
deposition  was  read,  stated  that  knew  David  Emerick,  and,  three 
years  after  he  became  acquainted  with  him,  he  was  taken  by  the  In- 
dians. "  They  killed  him  on  the  hill,  and  we  fled  to  Lee's,  and  lived 
there  until  after  hay-making.  Lee  was  after  the  Indians  when  Trin- 
kle  and  Faught  were  killed.  Lee  was  killed  by  the  Indians  after- 
wards. Emerick  was  not  taken  prisoner  the  same  summer  Lee  was 
killed,  but  the  year  we  lived  at  Lee's." 

Henry  Bickle,  sworn :  "I  am  fifty-one  or  fifty-two  years  of  age,  and 
was  born  in  1778  or  1779,  one  of  the  two.  I  have  been  always  told 
I  was  born  about  four  months  after  my  father  was  killed.  I  saw 
Emerick's  wife  when  she  was  in.  My  mother  lives  twenty  miles  from 
here.  Mrs.  Emerick  gave  me  a  pen-knife  when  she  was  in.  I  can- 
not recollect  how  long  since.  My  mother  is  eighty-five  the  7th  of 
next  September.  I  was  born  in  July,  and  my  father  was  killed  in 
April,  as  I  have  always  been  told  by  my  mother  and  others.  Emer- 
ick's wife  and  my  mother  were  sisters.  My  mother  was  married  to 
old  George  Schoch,  who  is  since  dead.  She  has  lost  her  mind,  and 
would  not  do  any  good  if  she  were  here." 

The  plaintiffs  then  gave  in  evidence  the  records  of  an  ejectment, 
No.  138,  May  Term,  1834.  James  Thompson  and  Margaret,  his 
wife,  late  Margaret  Emerick,  in  right  of  said  Margaret,  George  Bau- 
der  and  Catherine,  his  wife,  late  Catherine  Emerick,  vs.  David  Zeluff 
and  Robert  Hilands,  and  called  the  late  James  Merrill,  Esquire,  who 
said  that  he  had  brought  "this  suit  at  the  instance  of  David  Thorburn, 
who  showed  me  a  power  of  attorney,  which  he  took  away  with  him 
again.     I  never  knew  the  man  before.     He  said  he  lived  in  Canada." 

They  also  offered  letters  from  Thorburn  from  Canada,  post-marked 
Lewistown,  which  were  rejected.  This  ejectment  was  non-prossed 
under  the  rules. 


1781.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  205 

Defendants  called  Philip  Hoyens,  who  swore  he  knew  David  Em- 
erick  and  Henry  Bickle.  "  Emerick  first  lived  on  the  Gibbons  place. 
He  made  an  improvement,  built  a  house,  and  cleared  about  ten  acres. 
Bickle  and  Emerick  were  killed  by  the  Indians.  I  think  they  took 
Emerick  away  a  piece.  Emerick  moved  to  this  place  of  Gibbons' 
before  the  war.     It  was  two  miles  from  Northumberland." 

Instead  of  contending  stoutly  that  such  evidence  could  not  contra- 
dict a  deed  as  to  date,  and  could  raise  no  presumption  of  death  as 
against  a  written  document,  Mr.  Hepburn,  for  the  plaintiff,  seemed 
to  yield  to  the  force  of  the  old  men's  testimony,  and  said  that  Emer- 
ick's  name  might  be  a  fictitious  one,  which  Bonham  had  used ;  it 
was  the  practice  of  the  day  to  use  fictitious  names  to  obtain  a  warrant 
of  survey,  and  argued  further,  that  there  was  no  evidence  that  the 
David  Emerick  killed  by  the  Indians  was  the  one  who  owned  this 
land. 

•  The  jury,  in  the  former  trial,  had  found  for  the  defendants.  It 
was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  case  is  reported  in  2  Rawle, 
45,  reversed  on  error  of  the  judge.  At  this,  the  second  trial,  they 
came  in  with  a  sealed  verdict,  finding  for  defendant  again.  On  be- 
ing polled,  one  dissented,  and  they  were  sent  out,  and,  not  being 
able  to  agree,  they  were  discharged. 

At  May  Term,  1830,  the  cause  was  called  again,  and  after  the  jury 
were  in  the  box,  the  parties  settled  by  an  agreement  that  Gibbons 
should  hold  the  interference  during  life,  after  which  it  was  to  revert 
to  Bonham's  heirs.  Lashells  and  Greenough  were  for  the  defense,  as 
could  be  guessed  by  any  one  reading  the  trial,  and  knowing  their 
peculiar  ability  in  ejectment  cases. 

An  examination  of  the  assessment  books  in  the  commissioners'  office, 
would  have  shown  that  John  Lee  was  assessor  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1782,  wherefore,  according  to  the  testimony  of  all  the  witnesses,  the 
Bickle  and  Emerick  massacre  must  have  been  in  1 781 .  The  deed  from 
Glen  and  wife  to  Emerick,  showed  that  Emerick  was  alive  on  the 
15th  of  November,  1779,  while  Smith  and  Bickle's  testimony  would 
make  out  that  he  was  killed  in  1778  or  1779.  The  assessment  books 
show  that  Emerick  and  Bickle  were  both  aHve  on  ist  of  November, 
1780,  and  in  the  one  made  by  John  Lee  himself,  in  March,  1782, 
for  the  year  1781,  Bickle's  property  is  assessed  to  his  widow,  and  the 


sto6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  GALLEY.  [1781. 

name  and  family  of  Emerick  disappear  forever  from  the  assessment 
lists  after  1781. 

Hummel's  tavern,  in  Dry  valley,  was  at  the  intersection  of  the 
roads  at  Adam  Miller's,  beyond  Samuel  Guise's. 

The  Fought  and  Trinkle  murders  I  can  get  no  trace  of,  except 
the  allusion  in  this  evidence.     They  both  lived  in  Dry  valley. 

Henry  Bickle,  who  was  killed  when  Emerick's  family  was  cap- 
tured, left  the  following  family :  Christopher,  the  eldest,  who  took 
the  farm  in  1792,  at  40  shillings  per  acre;  Maria  C,  married  to 
Benjamin  Stroh;  Elizabeth  afterwards  married  Jacob  Kamerlin. 
Henry,  as  stated.  The  widow,  Esther  Regina,  married  George 
Schoch.  Christopher  sold  it  to  John  Meyer  in  1806,  who  sold  to 
Daniel  Nyhart,  who  sold,  4th  May,  1822,  to  Jacob  Mertz,  whose 
son,  Henry,  resides  at  the  old  place. 

John  VVierbach's  daughter,  (sister  of  Nicholas  and  John,)  of 
Buffalo,  was  carried  off  by  the  Indians.  She  married  among  them, 
and  after  the  war  her  father  went  West,  and  found  her,  but  could 
never  induce  her  to  return,  though  he  offered  every  inducement  he 
could.     She  preferred  the  wild  life  of  the  savages. 

Pay-roll  of  Peter  Grove' s  Detachment  for  Services  on  the  Frontier, 

June  I. 

Lieutenant — Grove,  Peter. 

Sergeants — Clark,  William;   Wilson,  Matthew. 

Privates — Trester,  John;  Lamberson,  Nicholas;  Rough,  John; 
Barber,  Uriah  ;  Trester,  Jacob  ;  Shock,  John  ;  Fisher,  Paul ;  Bovver, 
George  ;  Bradley,  Matthew ;  Bower,  Daniel ;  Houser,  Jacob  ;  Har- 
riott, William;  Grove,  Michael. 

Pay-roll  of  Lieutenant  Samuel  Mc  Grady's  Detachment. 

Lieutenant — McGrady,  Samuel. 

Sergeants— Montgomery,  Samuel;   Armstrong,  Daniel. 

Privates— Love,  Robert ;  Daraugh,  Ephraim  ;  Fleming,  '  Hans ; 
Fulton,  Samuel;  Marshall,  William;  Lykens,  Joseph;  Misener, 
John;   Clark,  George;   Rees,  Daniel ;  Speddy,  William ;   Pollock, 

'  His  proper  name  was  Archihal.l  Fleming.     He  lived  at  Shippengburg  in  August, 
1799,  as  appears  by  his  receipt. 


1781. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  207 

William ;  Dougherty,  William  ;  McClung,  Charles ;  English,  Wil- 
liam ;  Allen,  Robert ;  Parsons,  Barnabas ;   McGrady,  Alexander. 

In  1 781,  the  first  battalion  of  Northumberland  county  militia, 
commanded  by  Colonel  John  Kelly,  was  composed  of  the  following 
companies : 

Captain  John  Foster,   numbering,  officers  and  privates,   55  men. 
"         James  Thompson,      '*  "  "  44     " 

''         George  Overmeier,    "  "  "51     " 

''         Samuel  Fisher,  "  "  "55     " 

"         Samuel  Young,  "  "  "51     " 

"         Abraham  Piatt,  "  "  "53     " 

"         William  Irvine,  "  "  "53     " 

"         William  Gray,  "  "  "  44     " 

Among  the  rangers  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas  Robinson, 
June  I ,  occur  the  following  from  Buffalo  Valley  :  Claudius  Boat- 
man, fifer,  William  Armstrong,  Ludwig  Rough,  Conrad  Kather- 
man,  Jacob  Links. 

The  names  of  Thomas  Perry,  Hugh  Rodman,  John  Linn,  Wil- 
liam Black,  James  Rodman,  James  Boyd,  Thomas  Black,  John 
Rhea,  William  Black,  James  Hamersly,  appear  among  those  who 
received  pay  for  seven  months'  services. 

Indian  Outrages  in  the  Valley. 

July  18,  Colonel  Hunter  writes  that  the  Indians  have  again  made 
their  appearance,  and  that  there  were  no  stores  of  any  kind,  and 
meat  very  scarce  in  the  county. 

August  3,  Walter  Clark  and  William  Antes  write :  "  With  pain  and 
with  the  utmost  truth  we  are  obliged  to  declare  that  we  cannot  com- 
ply with  the  law  passed  for  supplies.  The  whole  personal  property 
of  the  county,  even  if  removed  to  a  place  where  cash  could  be  paid 
for  it,  would  not  pay  the  tax.  The  improvements  are  grown  up, 
burned,  or  destroyed,  and  the  most  of  the  personal  property  moved 
into  the  lower  counties." 

September,  Captain  Robinson  writes:  "The  savages  have  been 
quiet  for  some  time.  They  made  their  appearance  in  harvest,  but  did 
no  damage.  Lieutenant  Van  Campen  and  six  men  have  gone  up  into 
the  Indian  country,  to  discover  their  moves."  He  recommends 
Doctor  Eaker,  who  was  then  in  the  county,  and  intended  to  settle 


2o8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1781. 


there,  for  surgeon  of  his  company,  and  refers  to  Doctor  Shippen, 
who  knew  him. 

October  26,  WiUiam  Antes,  James  Espy,  and  Daniel  Montgom- 
ery, the  county  commissioners,  write  : "  "  That  the  county  books  and 
papers  are  yet  in  Paxton ;  that  it  appeared  by  the  treasurer's  books 
that  the  residents  paid  their  taxes,  while  the  non- residents  did  not  3 
that  they  would  now  proceed  with  the  tax  business  with  dispatch." 

6th  October,  Christian  Hetrick,  a  private  in  Captain  Samuel  Mc- 
Grady's  seven-months  men,  was  killed.  He  lived  at  Derr's,  and  his 
party  was  called  out  upon  the  appearance  of  some  Indians  on  Buf- 
falo creek.  They  did  not  come  up  with  them,  and  on  Hetrick's  re- 
turn home,  a  mile  and  a  half  above  Gundy's  mill,  he  was  shot.  When 
found  he  had  a  bullet  wound,  and  was  scalped  and  tomahawked.  His 
widow,  whose  name  was  Agnes,  married  Ephraim  Morrison,  in  1787, 
and  from  an  affidavit  made  to  get  a  pension  for  Hetrick's  children, 
I  got  the  facts.  Her  children  were  Andrew,  born  May  i,  1775  ; 
Catherine,  15th  March,  1777;  Elizabeth,  15th  June,  1779;  Polly, 
1 6th  October,  1 781.  He  was  one  of  the  first  residents  upon  the  site 
of  Lewisburg,  and  is  buried  just  above  Andrew  Wolfe's,  where  the 
rocks  jut  out  upon  the  road,  in  the  corner  of  the  woods.  My  father 
often  pointed  out  the  place,  but  he  did  not  know  the  man's  name. 

During  this  year  David  Storms  was  killed,  onthe  place  now  owned 
by  Esquire  Cameron,  in  Buffalo,  (Benjamin  Lahr  tenant.)  David 
Storms,  a  son,  married  Elizabeth  Baker,  aunt  of  Mrs.  John  Beeber, 
from  whom  I  received  the  story.  David  Storms,  the  son,  lived 
awhile  in  Centre  county,  and  laid  out  Stormstown,  called  after  him. 
David  Storms,  senior,  was  outside  the  house  at  work,  and  his  two 
daughters  were  engaged  spinning.  He  saw  the  Indians,  and  ran 
into  the  house.  They  knocked  the  door  in,  killed  and  scalped  him. 
The  girls  ran  up  stairs  into  different  rooms.  The  one  closed  the 
door  ;  the  other  got  behind  the  open  door.  They  killed  the  one,  and 
an  Indian  looked  in  the  other  room  ;  seeing  no  one,  went  down  stairs. 
She  watched  them  from  the  window,  and,  thinking  they  noticed  her, 
she  sank  down  in  a  fiiinting  fit ;  but  they  did  not  return. 

19th  October,  Jane,  widow  of  William  McClung,  killed  at  Fort 
Freeland,  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Magill,  to  David  Martin. 
She  had  three  ciiildren,  the  youngtst  not  born  when  their  father  was 
killed. 


1782.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  2og 

Among  those  deceased  this  year  occur  Casper  Yost,  of  Penn's ; 
William  Rodman,  of  White  Deer;  (his  widow,  Martha,  at'terwards 
married  James  Fleming.)  Children  :  James,  Thomas,  Alexander, 
John,  Samuel,  Benjamin,  and  William. 


1^8^. 


IxDiAX  In'cl'rsions — Rezn'er  Killed — Major  John  Lee  Killed— History 
OF  Lee's  Family,  and  Walker's — Death  of  Captain  Casper  Weitzel. 

ILLIAM  MOORE,  President  of  the  State.  James  Pot- 
ter, Vice  President.  Frederick  Antes,  Presiding  Judge. 
At  the  general  election  held  in  October,  William  Mont- 
gomery, William  Cooke,  and  William  Maclay  were 
elected  members  of  the  General  Assembly.  Thomas  Grant  received 
the  highest  number  of  votes  for  Sheriff,  but  Henry  Antes,  the  next 
highest  in  number  of  votes,  received  the  commission ;  John  Chat- 
tam,  Coroner]  and  David  Mead  was  elected  County  Commissioner. 
The  officers  of  Buffalo  were  :  Constable,  Peter  Burns ;  Supervisor, 
Nicholas  Reem  ;  Overseers,  Michael  Hessler  and  George  Hains. 

In  Penn's  township,  George  Herrold  is  assessed  with  two  mills 
and  a  ferry ;  Tobias  Bickle,  senior,  with  a  tan-yard ;  William  An- 
derson, tan-yard.  Additional  residents  :  Frederick  Bubb,  Frederick 
Guy,  (non-juror,)  Andrew  Gift,  John  Rush. 

Captain  Matthew  Smith  was  a  better  warrior,  no  doubt,  than 
pcothonotary,  but  answered  for  war  times,  when  there  was  little  to 
do.     I  copy  a  specimen  of  his  orphans'  court  records  : 

"At  an  orphans'  court  held  at  Sunbury,  January  ii,  1782, 
the  court  are  of  opinion,  from  information  given,  that  Benj.  Elliot 
and  Jean  Irwin  {alias  Elliot)  be  and  appear  at  Sunbury,  on  Mon- 
day, the  14th  inst.,  to  answer  said  court  on  some  complaint  of 
misdemeanour.  Fail  not  under  the  penalty  of  ;j^ioo.  Note  :  the 
14 


210  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1782. 

complaint  is  that  the  estate  of  Richard  Irwin  is  embezzling,  and 
that  the  above  Benjamin  and  Jean  is  to  be  provided  with  security 
to  cloath,  maintain,  and  educate  the  minor  children ;  otherwise, 
other  security  will  be  given,  that  no  expense  will  accrue  to  the  said 
minor  children. 

Matthew  Smith." 

The  Indian  outrages  commenced  early  this  year,  and  on  the  ist 
of  May  Captain  Joseph  Green  had  a  party  out  in  defense  of  the 
frontier. 

May  6,  Edward  Tate,  a  private  in  Captain  George  Overmeier's 
company,  was  wounded  by  a  ball  through  his  foot,  in  an  engage- 
ment with  the  Indians,  which  ocurred  on  a  place  then  occupied  by 
Frederick  Wise,  (now  in  Limestone  township,  somewhere  between 
Mifflinburg  and  Wehr's  tavern.)  A  number  of  the  company  were 
on  a  scout,  and  were  talking,  at  the  time,  of  the  merits  of  their 
respective  guns.  One  said  he  could  shoot  the  drop  from  an  Indian's 
nose.  Just  at  that  moment  the  Indians,  who  were  in  ambush,  fired 
upon  them,  and  several  fell.  Tate,  who  was  wounded,  ran  and 
concealed  himself.  An  Indian,  in  pursuit,  came  near  to  where  he 
lay,  and  looked  over  the  fence,  but  did  not  discover  him.  Philip 
Seebold,  whose  authority  was  old  Mrs.  Overmeier,  said  the  names 
of  the  two  men  killed  were  Lee  and  Rezner  ;  that  their  bodies  were 
brought  to  Captain  Overmeier's,  and  she  washed  them,  and  they  were 
buried  in  the  grave-yard  at  Dry  run,  near  late  Philip  Seebold's  resi- 
dence. 

Major  Lee  and  others  Killed  by  the  Indians. 

The  attack  on  John  Lee's  (now  Winfield)  was  made  in  August. 
A  letter  directed  to  Colonel  Magaw,  at  Carlisle,  found  among  his 
papers,  from  Colonel  Butler,  dated  25th  August,  says,  a  party  of 
Indians,  supposed  to  be  sixty  or  seventy  in  number,  killed  Mr.  Lee 
and  family,  a  few  miles  above  Sunbury.  Letters  of  administration 
were  issued  to  Captain  John  Lowdon  and  Thomas  Grant  on  the 
31st  of  August.     Lee  was  assessor  in  April  of  this  year. 

I  copy  from  Meginness  his  narration  of  the  occurrence,  as  I  can 
find  no  contemporaneous  account  of  it.  Meginness,  however,  con- 
founds Major  John  Lee  with  Sergeant  Lee,  killed  at  Fort  Rice,  on 


1782.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  2ii 

the  24th  of  October,  and  relates  an  incident  occurring  at  Sergeant 
Lee's  funeral  as  happening  at  Major  Lee's  funeral : 

"It  was  a  summer  evening,  and  his  family  were  at  supper.  A 
young  woman  named  Katy  Stoner  escaped  up  stairs,  and  concealed 
herself  behind  the  chimney.  Lee  was  tomahawked  and  scalped,  and 
a  man  named  John  Walker  shared  the  same  fate.  A  Mrs.  Boatman 
and  daughter  were  also  killed.  Mrs.  Lee,  with  a  small  child  and  a 
boy  named  Thomas,  were  led  away  captives.  They  took  the  path 
up  the  Valley,  crossing  White  Deer  mountain,  and  then  the  river. 
One  of  Lee's  sons,  Robert,  returning  about  the  time,  saw  the  In- 
dians leaving.  He  fled  to  Northumberland,  and  gave  the  alarm. 
A  party  was  organized  by  Colonel  Hunter,  and  started  in  pursuit. 
Henry  McHenry,  father  of  A.  H.  McHenry,  of  Jersey  Shore,  was  in 
this  party,  and  gave  an  account  of  it  to  his  son.  In  crossing  the 
mountains,  Mrs.  Lee  was  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake,  and  her  leg  became 
so  much  swollen,  she  traveled  with  great  difficulty.  Tne  Indians 
finding  themselves  pursued,  urged  her  on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but 
her  strength  failed  her.  When  near  the  mouth  of  Pine  run,  four 
miles  below  Jersey  Shore,  she  gave  out  and  sat  down.  An  Indian 
slipped  up  behind  her,  placed  the  muzzle  of  his  rifle  to  her  ear,  and 
blew  off  the  whole  upper  portion  of  her  head.  One  of  them  seized 
her  little  child  by  the  heel  and  dashed  it  against  a  tree.  They  then 
fled,  crossing  the  river  at  Smith's  fording,  and  ran  up  Nippenose 
bottom.  When  Colonel  Hunter  came  up  with  his  men,  the  body  of 
Mrs.  Lee  was  yet  warm,  and  the  child,  but  little  injured,  was  moan- 
ing piteously.  Near  Antes'  Gap  the  Indians  separated,  and  ran  up 
both  sides  of  the  mountain,  and  the  party  gave  up  the  chase,  as  they 
were  nearly  exhausted.  They  came  back  and  buried  Mrs.  Lee  where 
she  died,  and  brought  the  child  back.  They  dug  a  hole  alongside 
of  Walker's  body  and  rolled  him  in.  Mrs.  Boatman's  daughter  sur- 
vived and  lived  many  years  afterwards.  Young  Thomas  Lee  was 
not  recovered  for  many  years  afterwards.  His  brother  made  arrange- 
ments with  the  Indians  to  bring  him  to  Tioga  Point,  (Athens  now,) 
where  he  was  delivered  to  his  friends.  Such  was  his  love  of  Indian 
life  that  they  were  obliged  to  tie  him  and  place  him  into  a  canoe  to 
bring  him  home.  When  near  Wilkesbarre  they  untied  him,  but  as 
soon  as  the  canoe  touched  the  shore,  he  was  out  and  off  like  a  deer. 
They  caught  him,  however,  and,  on  arriving  at  Northumberland,  he 


213  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1782. 

evinced  all  the  sullenness  of  a  captive.  Boys  and  girls  played  about 
him  for  several  days  before  he  showed  any  disposition  to  join  them. 
At  last  he  began  to  inquire  the  names  of  things.  By  degrees  he 
became  civilized,  and  obtained  a  good  education." — Meginness, 
page  276. 

John  Van  Buskirk  told  me  when  he  came  to  the  Valley,  in  181 6, 
the  old  people  thereabouts  showed  him  the  spot  where  Lee  was 
killed,  by  what  is  now  (1877)  a  blasted  pine,  some  little  distance 
in  a  westerly  course  from  the  furnace  stone  stable ;  and  he  said  Lee 
was  buried,  with  his  family,  near  their  residence,  which  Isaac  Eyer, 
senior,  tells  me,  stood  just  where  the  furnace  railroad  crosses  the 
road  to  the  river,  and  that  his  father  lived  in  it  until  he  built  the 
new  house,  within  his  own  recollection. 

I  once  had  occasion  to  examine  the  title  papers  of  Youngman's 
and  Walter's  place.  Among  them  is  the  release  of  Thomas  Lee, 
the  eldest  son,  his  signature,  excellent  hand-writing,  dated  ist  April, 
1797,  to  Robert  Lee,  of  Point  township.  Release  of  Sarah,  mar- 
ried to  William  Beard,  of  Lycoming  county,  24th  April,  1797,  to 
Robert.  Rebecca,  married  to  Robert  Hursh,  of  Lycoming  county, 
of  same  date ;  and  Eliza  Lee.  She  was  probably  the  infant  spoken 
of  in  the  narrative.  Robert  Lee  then  sold  to  Abraham  Eyerly, 
(now  Eyer,)  2d  May,  1797. 

The  sequel  to  John  Walker's  murder,  Mr.  Meginness  relates,  as 
follows:  "  In  the  year  1790  his  sons  Benjamin,  Joseph,  and  Henry 
Walker  were  living  on  a  farm  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  Pine  creek, 
a  few  miles  above  Jersey  Shore,  when  two  Indians,  one  a  youth  and 
the  other  a  middle-aged,  well-proportioned  man>  came  into  the 
neighborhood.  At  Stephenson's  tavern,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
creek,  some  people,  and  among  them  the  Walkers,  had  gathered. 
The  Indians  got  drunk,  and  performed  many  antics ;  and  the  old 
Indian,  putting  on  the  most  horrid  grimaces,  and  twisting  his  face 
into  all  sorts  of  shapes,  said,  '  this  is  the  way  old  Walker  looked 
when  I  killed  and  scalped  him.'  That  evening  the  brothers  per- 
suaded one  Samuel  Doyle  to  accompany  them,  and  murdered  the 
Indians,  placing  their  bodies  in  the  creek  near  where  Phelps'  mill 
stands.  The  bodies  were  washed  out  by  a  freshet,  and  suspicion 
pointed  to  the  Walkers,  who  fled  the  country." 

The  county  records  show  that  letters  upon  the  estate  of  John 


1782.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  213 

Walker  were  granted  to  his  widow,  Jane,  and  eldest  son,  Benjamin,  in 
August  1782,  and  the  rest  of  his  family  consisted  of  William,  who 
died  before  1790,  (leaving  a  son,  John,)  Henry,  Joseph,  John, 
Samuel,  and  Sarah,  married  to  William  Morrison. 

During  this  year,  a  boy  sent  to  Van  Gundy's  mill  (now  J.  W. 
Shriner's,  near  Lewisburg,)  was  shot  from  his  horse.  This  occurred 
on  the  Meixell  place,  a  short  distance  above  Francis  Wilson's.  He 
was  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  his  name  has  not  been  preserved, 
but  the  spot,  a  marsh  by  the  present  road,  was  haunted,  people  said, 
by  his  ghost  riding  a  white  horse. 

Deaths. 

Casper  Weitzel,  Esquire,  was  a  lawyer,  practicing  at  Sunbury, 
when  the  war  broke  out,  in  1775,  and  as  secretary  of  the  county 
committee,  took  a  very  active  part  in  favor  of  independence.  In 
1776  he  raised  a  company  in  and  around  Sunbury,  which  was  at- 
tached to  Colonel  Miles'  regiment,  and  participated  in  the  disastrous 
battle  of  the  27th  of  August,  on  Long  Island.  He  fought  through 
the  British  ranks,  aud  made  his  way  into  camp,  with  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Brodhead,  with  a  loss  of  twenty,  officers  and  men,  of  his 
company.  His  rolls,  written  in  his  own  neat  hand,  are  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth.  He  was  a  granduncle  of 
P.  R.  Weitzel,  Esquire,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 

John  Smith,  of  Buffalo  township ;  his  children  were  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine Norgang  and  Mrs.  Christian  Storms.  Martin  Trester  and 
Adam  Smith,  of  Buffalo.  James  Poak,  of  White  Deer,  leaving  a 
widow,  Mary  ;  Sarah,  married  to  Colonel  John  Kelly ;  Deborah,  to 
Ephraim  Darrough, — James,  Thomas,  William,  and  David  were  his 
children.  He  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Little  Buffalo  creek,  Fort  Horn, 
(Cameron's.) 


#:"  -iG^"^^"  ^"•i>?»»>''''-{     """  "^ 


>ra 


1783- 


State    Officials — Election  Retfrxs — Contested  Election — Reverend 
CvKiAcrs  Spangenisekg — The  Brady  Family. 

ITATE  OFFICIALS:  His  Excellency,  John  Dickinson, 
President.  Judges  of  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and 
Appeals,  John  Dickinson,  Samuel  Miles,  and  Henry 
Wyncoop.     Edward  Burd,  Prothonotary.  * 

Councillor,  John  Boyd.  Members  of  Assembly,  William  Maclay, 
James  McClenachan,  and  William  Cooke.  President  Justice,  Wil- 
liam Montgomery.  Prothonotary,  Major  Lawrence  Keene,  appointed 
September  25,  vice  Matthew  Smith.  (Among  the  applicants  for  this 
appointment  were  Colonel  Atlee  and  Daniel  Montgomery.)  County 
Commissioner,  John  Clarke.  County  Treasurer,  Frederick  Antes, 
appointed  October  20.  Collector  of  Excise,  William  Wilson,  ap- 
pointed October  20. 

Officers  of  Buffalo  :  Constable,  Ludwig  Derr  ;  Supervisors,  Jacob 
Dreisbach  and  John  Dabellon  ;  Overseers,  George  Overmeier  and 
Alexander  McGrady.  Additional  residents:  Foster,  Andrew;  Foster, 
Thomas  ;  Frederick,  Thomas  ;  Garret,  John  ;  Greenhoe,  Andrew  ; 
Gibson,  James  ;  Gray,  John  ;  Grosvenor,  Richard  ;  Gunner,  Jacob; 
Hart,  John  ;  Harman,  Samuel ;  Hanna,  Isaac;  Kennedy,  Alexander ; 
Knox,  George ;  Lincoln,  Mishael ;  May,  George ;  Macpherson, 
John;  Spangler,  Christian;  Thompson,  John,  junior;  Troxell, 
George.     Improvement,  Andrew  Morrow,  grist  and  saw-mill. 

Residents  of  White  Deer  :  Iddings,  Samuel  ;  Potter,  James,  Es- 
quire. 

Penn's  :  Boop,  George  ;  Moore,  George  ;  Pyle,  George;  Sherk, 
John  ;  Weaver,  Michael.  Widow  Stees  is  taxed  with  grist  and  saw- 
mill. 

214 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


215 


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2ib  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  (1783. 

Two  returns  were  made  of  this  election,  one  signed  by  Elias 
Youngman,  Anthony  Geiger,  and  John  Tschops,  judges  of  the 
Augusta  or  Sunbury  district,  and  Jacob  Dreisbach,  for  the  Buffalo 
district,  certifying  to  the  election  of  Samuel  Hunter,  junior,  and 
William  Gray,  of  Buffalo,  as  members  of  the  Council  of  Censors ; 
John  Boyd,  as  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council ;  William 
Maclay,  William  Cooke,  and  John  Weitzel,  as  members  of  Assem- 
bly;  John  Byers,  Commissioner;  Henry  Antes,  Sheriff,  &c.;  the 
other  return,  signed  by  James  Murray,  James  Espy,  and  Simon 
Spaulding,  of  the  Northumberland  district,  and  Richard  Manning, 
of  the  Muncy  district,  certified  to  the  election  of  William  Mont- 
gomery and  Samuel  Hunter  as  Censors,  Robert  Martin  as  Councillor, 
James  McClenachan,  Daniel  Montgomery,  and  Frederick  Antes  as 
members  of  Assembly;  Henry  Antes,  Sheriff;  John  Clarke,  Com- 
missioner, &c. 

The  former  judges  arrived  at  their  result  by  throwing  out  the 
Northumberland  and  Muncy  boxes.  They  did  this  because  in- 
truders from  Wyoming  were  allowed  to  vote  at  Northumberland, 
and  residents  upon  the  Indian  lands  were  allowed  to  vote  at  Muncy. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  the  House  of  Representatives  arrived 
at  a  little  different  result,  by  rejecting  the  Muncy  box  alone,  thus 
admitting  William  Maclay,  William  Cooke  and  James  McClenachan 
as  members ;  Samuel  Hunter  and  William  Montgomery  became 
members  of  the  Council  of  Censors,  on  November  13,  by  counting 
all  the  votes ;  John  Boyd,  Councillor,  and  John  Clarke,  (Buffalo,) 
County  Commissioner. 

The  deposition  of  Thomas  Hamilton  proved  that,  at  the  Muncy 
election,  Richard  Manning,  who  lived  on  Long  Island,  supposed  to 
be  Indian  land,  acted  as  judge,  and  David  McKinney,  who  lived 
opposite  the  Great  Island,  on  Indian  land,  acted  as  inspector;  that 
John  Price,  John  Hamilton,  Britton  Caldwell,  one  Thorp,  and 
others,  who  resided  upon  Indian  land  had  voted  at  the  Muncy  dis- 
trict election,  held  at  Amariah  Sutton's.  The  Muncy  district  was 
comjjosed  of  Bald  Eagle  and  Muncy.  Robert  Fleming  was  the  only 
one  from  Bald  Eagle  who  voted.  Manning  testified  that  he  acted 
as  judge;  lived  on  Long  Island;  that  Daugherty,  who  acted  as 
inspector  of  the  election,  lived  fifteen  miles  from  the  district,  in 
Turbut  township,  which  was  in  the  Northumberland  district ;   that 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  217 

the  Indian  land  men  voted  generally  in  favor  of  Montgomery,  Antes, 
and  McClenachan  for  Assembly,  &c. 

William  Sims'  testimony,  with  that  of  others,  in  regard  to  the 
Northumberland  box,  was  that  he  had  been  up  at  Wyoming,  and 
saw  William  Bonham  there,  in  company  with  Colonel  Zebulon  But- 
ler, and  Bonham  Acknowledged  to  him  that  it  was  his  business  there 
to  get  the  Wyoming  people  to  go  down  to  Northumberland  and 
vote  ;  that  Bonham  was  exceedingly  busy  in  inviting  and  persuading 
the  New  England  people  to  go  down  and  vote  ;  that  Colonel  Butler 
told  Captain  Gaskins  that  there  would  be  over  one  hundred  down  ; 
that  many  of  them  were  in  Northumberland  and  had  voted,  and 
Bonham  kept  an  open  house  for  them ;  heard  Bonham  tell  Schotl 
to  go  up  to  his  house  and  get  his  dinner ;  and  further  said  the  elec- 
tion had  cost  him  $20.  Captain  Spaulding,  one  of  the  New  Eng- 
land men,  acted  as  judge,  and  Lord  Butler,  son  of  Colonel  Zebulon, 
acted  as  clerk. 

Simon  Spaulding  testified  that  he  lived  at  Stoke ;  had  been  seven 
years  captain  in  the  army,  &c. ;  that  the  principle  on  which  the 
people  came  down  to  vote  was  to  show  their  design  of  conforming 
to  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  they  took  that  as  the  first  op- 
portunity of  doing  it,  &c. 

A  petition  to  the  Assembly  remonstrating  against  receiving  the 
returns  from  Muncy  and  Northumberland  was  numerously  signed 
by  the  inhabitants  along  Penn's  creek,  and  of  Buffalo  Valley,  and 
other  parts  of  the  county.  Among  the  names  of  the  Hesslers, 
Ulrichs,  Jacob  Welker,  &c.,  occurs  that  of  Cyriacus  Spangenberg, 
V.  D.  M.  The  autograph  is  that  of  an  elegant  penman,  and  fixes 
the  date  of  his  residence  on  Penn's  creek  two  years  earlier  than 
Doctor  Harbaugh  supposed  when  he  wrote  the  following  notice  of 
him:  "  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  one  Rev.  Cyriacus  Spangen- 
berg, who  had  come  over  with  the  Hessian  mercenaries,  and  had 
secured,  irregularly,  ordination  by  a  frivolous  preacher  named  Philip 
J.  Michael,  thus,  not  by  the  door,  but  '  climbing  up  some  other 
way,'  was  this  wolf  admitted  into  the  fold  ;  located  near  Selinsgrove 
and  began  to  preach  there,  at  Row's  Church,  Mahantango,  Middle 
Creek,  and  other  places. 

"Such  characters  often  found  their  way  into  the  quiet  and  rural 
settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  as  the  serpent  did  into  Eden,  insinuate 


2i8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1783. 

themselves  into  the  favor  of  the  needy  and  unsuspecting,  before 
their  old  sins  could  follow  them,  or  new  ones  could  disclose  their 
true  character.  Hungry  souls,  who  had  been  for  years  without  the 
ministry,  would  hope  the  best,  even  amid  doubts  and  fears,  and  thus 
were  in  a  favorable  position  to  be  deceived.  Like  all  others,  the 
German  Reformed  Church  has  not  escaped  these  painful  afflictions. 

"Spangenberg  was  not  long  here  before  his  true  character  ap- 
peared. He  had  represented  himself  as  a  single  man,  drew  upon 
himself  the  affections  of  a  young  female,  obtained  her  promise  of 
marriage,  and  the  day  was  fixed  for  the  wedding.  But  on  the  day 
previous,  a  letter  was  discovered  from  his  wife,  still  living  in  Europe. 
This  at  once  arrested  the  whole  business,  and  set  the  son  of  perdition 
bare  before  the  community.  He  now  left  Selinsgrove,  to  the  great 
relief  of  the  people.  There  are  still  (1857)  aged  persons  along 
Penn's  creek,  who  in  youth  heard  the  story  of  this  vagabond's 
doings,  and  much  of  it  still  floats,  in  half  uncertain  tradition,  among 
those  of  the  present  generation. 

"His  fate  will  interest  our  readers.  In  1795  '"'^  ^ad  succeeded  in 
introducing  himself  to  congregations  in  (then)  Bedford  county,  in- 
cluding Berlin,  now  Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania.  A  division 
had  for  some  time  been  growing  wider  in  the  congregation  at 
Berlin — some  anxious  to  be  relieved  of  him,  others  as  desirous  of 
retaining  him.  On  a  day  appointed  for  a  vote,  the  people  assembled 
in  the  church,  Spangenberg  being  also  present.  Just  before  voting, 
a  pious  and  influential  elder,  named  Jacob  Glassmore,  who  sat  in 
the  altar  with  Spangenberg,  made  some  remarks  fiivoring  a  change 
of  ministers,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  the  result  of  the  vote  would 
show  that  the  congregation  were  inclined  in  that  way.  Whereupon 
Spangenberg  sprang  to  his  feet  in  wrath,  drew  a  dirk  from  his  pocket 
and  plunged  it  into  the  elder's  heart.  In  a  moment  Elder  Glassmore 
lay  in  blood  and  death  in  the  altar  before  the  whole  congregation. 

"  Spangenberg  was  seized  immediately  and  placed  in  Bedford  jail. 
His  trial  ended  on  the  27th  of  April,  and  he  was  found  guilty  of 
murder  in  the  first  degree.  Efforts  were  made  with  the  Governor 
for  a  pardon,  or  to  have  the  sentenced  commuted.  The  Governor 
submitted  the  records  to  the  chief  justice.  The  reply  was  unfavora- 
ble, and  on  the  loth  of  October,  1795,  between  ten  A.  M.  and  two 
p.  M.,  Spangenberg  was  hanged  at  Bedford." 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  zig 

Reminiscences  of  ihe  Brady  Family. 

October  20,  died  Mrs.  Mary  Brady,  widow  of  Captain  John  Brady. 
Her  remains  rest  in  the  Lewisburg  cemetery.  She  died  on  the  Ja- 
phet  Morton  place,  a  long  tract,  which  extends  from  (and  gives  the 
name  to)  Mortonsville,  (better  known  as  Smoketown,)  up  to  the 
place  lately  owned  by  John  Schrack,  Esquire.  She  was  born  in  1 735 , 
and  her  maiden  name  was  Quigley.  She  died  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-eight  years,  and  left  the  following  family  : 

Captain  Samuel  Brady,  born  1758,  at  Shippensburg.  James 
Brady,  killed  in  1778.  John  Brady,  born  1761,  and  known  as 
Sheriff.  Mary  (married  to  Captain  William  Gray,  of  Sunbury,)  died 
December  13,  1850.  William  P.  Brady,  who  removed  to  Indiana 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  deputy  surveyor  in  Northumberland 
county  many  years.  His  son,  Hugh,  was  a  noted  attorney  in  the 
western  counties  of  the  State.  The  latter  married  a  daughter  of 
Evan  Rice  Evans,  Esquire,  and  their  son,  the  first  Brady  that  ever 
was  killed  in  battle,  fell  at  Antietam,  in  1862.  General  Hugh  Brady, 
who  died  in  Detroit,  in  1851.  Jennie  Brady,  a  twin  sister,  born  29th 
July,  1768.  Robert,  married  afterwards  to  a  daughter  of  Colonel 
William  Cooke.  Hannah.  Liberty,  born  August  9,  1778,  so  called 
as  she  was  the  first  child  born  to  them  after  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. She  married  William  Dewart,  and  died  without  issue, 
July  25,  1 85 1. 

I  copy  here,  in  full.  General  Hugh  Brady's  account  of  the  family, 
taken  from  an  appendix  to  his  funeral  sermon  by  Reverend  George 
Duffield,  loaned  me  by  Mrs.  Nancy  Eckert,  of  Lewisburg,  grand- 
daughter of  Captain  John  Brady  : 

"  I  was  born  on  the  29th  day  of  July,  i  768,  at  the  Standing  Stone, 
in  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  the  fifth  son  (they  had 
six  sons  and  four  daughters)  of  John  and  Mary  Brady.  My  brothers 
all  lived  to  be  men,  in  every  sense  of  the  term,  and  at  a  period 
when  the  qualities  of  men  were  put  to  the  most  severe  and  enduring 
tests.  While  I  was  yet  a  child,  my  father  moved  on  to  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  river,  and  pitched  his  tent  about  eight 
miles  above  the  town  of  Northumberland.  At  this  time,  (as  well  as 
in  later  periods,)  titles  to  wild  lands  could  be  obtained  by  erecting 
a  log-house,  and  by  girdling  a  few  trees,  by  way  of  improvement  or 


220  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1783. 

cultivation.  In  tliis  way,  my  father,  John  Brady,  took  up  a  vast 
quantity  of  land  ;  and,  had  he  not  fallen  in  the  war  of  1776,  would 
have  been  one  of  the  greatest  land-holders  in  the  State.  But,  owing 
to  the  dishonesty  and  mismanagement  of  those  connected  with  him, 
his  family  received  but  little  benefit  from  his  exertions.  Soon  after 
the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1776,  he  was  appointed  a  captain 
in  the  twelfth  Pennsylvania  regiment ;  and,  in  a  few  weeks  having 
recruited  his  company,  he  joined  the  army,  with  which  he  remained 
until  after  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine. 

"At  this  time  the  Indians  had  become  very  troublesome  in  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Susquehanna;  so  much  so,  that  application  was 
made  to  General  Washington  for  regular  troops  to  protect  the  fron- 
tier. Not  being  in  a  condition  to  spare  any  troops  at  that  moment, 
he  ordered  home  Captain  John  Brady,  Captain  Boone,  and  Lieuten- 
ants John  and  Samuel  Dougherty,  to  use  their  influence  in  inducing 
the  people  to  sustain  themselves,  until  he  could  afford  them  other 
relief.  And  nobly  did  they  execute  his  design.  All  that  brave  and 
experienced  men  could  do,  was  done  by  them,  even  to  sacrificing 
their  lives  in  the  defense  of  their  country;  for,  in  less  than  two 
years  from  that  date,  Captains  Brady  and  Boone,  and  Lieutenant 
Samuel  Dougherty,  had  fallen  by  the  hands  of  the  savages.  Ten 
months  before  the  death  of  Captain  John  Brady,  his  son  James  had 
fallen  (in  1778)  by  the  Indians.  Another  son,  Samuel,  was  then  an 
officer  in  the  United  States  army.  John  was  then  at  home,  in  charge 
of  the  family,  and  in  his  sixteenth  year. 

"After  the  fall  of  Captain  Brady,  my  mother  removed,  with  her 
family,  to  her  father's  place  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  she  arrived  in  May,  1779,  and  where  she  remained  till  Octo- 
ber of  that  year.  She  then  removed  to  Buffalo  Valley,  about  twenty 
miles  below  our  former  residence,  and  settled  on  one  of  our  own 
farms.  We  found  the  tenant  had  left  our  portion  of  the  hay  and 
grain,  which  was  a  most  fortunate  circumstance.  The  winter  fol- 
lowing (1779  and  1780)  was  a  very  severe  one,  and  the  depth  of  the 
snow  interdicted  all  traveling.  Neighbors  were  few,  and  the  settle- 
ment scattered,  so  that  the  winter  was  solitary  and  dreary  to  a  most 
I)ainful  degree.  But,  while  the  depth  of  the  snow  kept  us  confined 
at  home,  it  had  also  the  effect  to  protect  us  from  the  inroads  of  the 
savages.     But,  with  the  opening  of  the  spring,  the  Indians  returned, 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  221 

and  killed  some  people  not  very  remote  from  our  residence.  This 
induced  Mrs.  Brady  to  take  shelter,  with  some  ten  or  twelve  families, 
on  the  West  Branch,  about  three  miles  from  our  home.^  Pickets 
were  placed  around  the  houses,  and  the  old  men,  women,  and  child- 
ren, remained  within  during  the  day  ;  while  all  who  could  work  and 
carry  arms,  returned  to  their  farms,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  some- 
thing to  subsist  upon.  Many  a  day  have  I  walked  by  the  side  of 
my  brother  John,  while  he  was  plowing,  and  carried  my  rifle  in  one 
hand,  and  a  forked  stick  in  the  other,  to'  clear  the  ploughshare. 

"  Sometimes  my  mother  would  go  with  us  to  prepare  our  dinner. 
This  was  contrary  to  our  wishes ;  but  she  said  that,  while  she  shared 
the  dangers  that  surrounded  us,  she  was  more  contented  than  when 
left  at  the  fort.  Thus  we  continued  till  the  end  of  the  war,  when 
peace — happy  peace — again  invited  the  people  to  return  to  their 
homes. 

"  In  1783,  our  mother  was  taken  from  us.  In  1784,  my  brother 
John  married,  and,  soon  after,  my  eldest  sister  followed  his  example. 
All  the  children  younger  than  myself  lived  with  them.  I  went  to 
the  western  country  with  my  brother  Captain  Samuel  Brady.  He 
had  been  recently  disbanded,  and  had  married  a  Miss  Swearingen,  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  took  me  to  his  house  at  that 
place,  and  I  made  it  my  home  until  1792,  when  I  was  appointed  an 
ensign  in  General  Wayne's  army.  Previous  to  this,  my  brother  had 
moved  into  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  and  settled  a  short  distance  above 
Charlestovvn.  At  that  day,  the  Indians  were  continually  committing 
depredations  along  the  frontier.  West  of  the  Ohio  the  settlements 
were  very  sparse,  and  the  people  from  the  east  side  went  frequently 
in  pursuit  of  parties  of  marauding  Indians  who  visited  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

"  I  joined  with  several  parties  in  pursuit  of  Indians,  but  only  met 
them  once  in  action.  This  was,  I  think,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1791. 
Our  spies  in  front  had  discovered  a  trail  of  Indians,  about  eight 
miles  up  Indian  Cross-cut,  making  for  the  settlements.  The  next 
morning,  ten  citizens  were  met  by  Lieutenant  Buskirk,  with  twelve 
State  rangers,  at  the  old  Mingo  town,  and  from  there  we  went  in 
pursuit.  After  following  their  trail  till  near  sunset,  we  were  fired 
on  by  the  enemy,  who  lay  concealed  in  a  thicket.     Lieutenant  Bus- 

'  At  Jenkins'  mill  in  East  BuUalo. 


222  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1783. 

kirk  was  killed,  and  three  men  wounded.  After  a  fight  of  about  ten 
minutes,  the  Indians  retreated,  leaving  one  gun  on  the  ground  and 
much  blood  on  the  bushes.  We  pursued  the  party  then  till  dark, 
but  did  not  overtake  them.  The  next  day,  we  returned  to  the  field 
with  a  large  .party ;  ai>d,  about  one  hundred  yards  up  the  stream 
which  had  divided  the  combatants,  we  found  twenty- two  Indian 
packs,  showing  that  our  party  of  twenty-two  men  had  fought  the 
same  number  of  Indians.  It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  eight 
of  them  died  of  wounds  received  before  they  reached  their  towns.  I 
had  a  fair  shot  at  the  bare  back  of  one  of  them.  I  do  not  know 
whether  I  hit  him  or  not.  He  did  not  fall,  and  I  think  I  was  some- 
what excited. 

•'On  the  5th  of  March  following,  1 792, 1  was  appointed  an  ensign 
in  a  rifle  company,  commanded  by  Captain  John  Crawford,  a  sol- 
dier of  '76.  William  Clarke,  of  Kentucky,  was  the  first  lieutenant. 
I  reported  to  my  captain,  and  was  put  on  the  recruiting  service. 
But,  as  the  pay  of  a  soldier  was  only  $3  per  month,!  met  with  little 
success.  Our  clothing  was  also  indifterent,  and  the  feelings  of  the 
people  generally  averse  to  enlisting.  They  did  not  consider  regu- 
lar soldiers  the  thing,  exactly,  to  fight  Indians.  I  then  joined  the 
headquarters  of  the  army,  at  Legionville,  the  spot  where  Harmony 
now  stands,  twenty  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  The  first  duty  I  per- 
formed was  on  Christmas  day,  1792,  when  I  commanded  a  picket 
guard.  The  officer  of  the  day,  Major  Mills,  saw,  at  guard-mount- 
ing, that  I  was  very  green,  and  when  he  visited  my  guard,  at  twelve 
o'clock,  he  took  much  pains  to  instruct  me.  He  also  let  me  know 
at  what  hour  at  night  the  grand  rounds  would  visit  me.  I  had 
Baron  Steuben's  Tactics,  and  a  good  old  sergeant,  and  was  pretty 
well  prepared  to  receive  the  rounds  when  they  approached. 

"  The  major  complimented  me,  and  remained  with  me  for  some 
time.  His  treatment  had  the  effect  to  inspire  me  with  that  confi- 
dence which  is  indispensable  in  a  young  officer,  to  enable  him  to 
perform  any  duty  in  a  suitable  manner.  I  then  thought  Steuben 
had  nothing  with  which  I  was  not  familiar,  and  the  confidence  it 
gave  me  has  unquestionably  been  of  service  to  me  up  to  the  present 
day.  The  history  and  movements  of  that  army  are  before  the  world; 
but  its  sufferings  and  privations  are  only  known  to  those  who  shared 
them,  of  which  I  had  my  full  propurtion.     Our  campaign  in  Canada, 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  223 

during  the  war  of  1812,  was  by  no  means  interesting,  and  its  priva- 
tions, &c.,  were  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  Compared  with 
the  campaign  of  General  Wayne,  it  was  all  sunshine.  At  its  close, 
I  was  left  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Hamtramck,  at  Fort 
Wayne.  The  force  consisted  of  Captain  Porter's  company  of  artil- 
lery. Captains  Kingsbury's,  Grattan's,  and  Reed's  companies  of 
infantry,  and  Captain  Preston's  company  of  riflemen,  to  which  I 
was  attached. 

"During  that  winter,  1794-5,  we  lived  very  poorly.  Our  beef 
came  to  us  on  the  hoof,  and  poor,  and  we  had  little  or  nothing  to 
fatten  them  with.  Having  no  salt  to  cure  it,  it  was  slaughtered, 
and  hung  up  under  a  shed,  where,  by  exposure,  it  became  perfectly 
weather-beaten,  and  as  tough  as  an  old  hide.  Of  course,  it  made  a 
miserable  soup.  At  the  same  time,  our  men  received  but  half  ra- 
tions of  floUr,  and  were  working  like  beavers  to  complete  our  quar- 
ters. Thus  we  lived  until  about  the  middle  of  February,  when  a 
brigade  of  pack-horses  arrived,  loaded  with  flour  and  salt,  and  with 
them  came  a  drove  of  hogs.  From  this  time  forward  we  considered 
ourselves  as  living  on  the  '  fat  of  the  land.'  An  early  spring  fol- 
lowed, and  with  it  came  ducks,  geese,  and  trout,  to  improve  our 
living ;  and  the  Indians,  soon  after,  came  in  with  their  flags  to  sue 
for  peace ;  and  our  time  passed  away  pleasantly.  The  treaty  was 
opened  at  Greenville  on  the  4th  of  July,  1795,  on  which  day  I  ar- 
rived at  that  place.  I  had  been  ordered  there  as  a  witness  in  the 
case  of  Captain  Preston,  who  was  tried  for  disobeying  the  orders  of 
Colonel  Hamtramck.  The  court  sentenced  him  to  be  reprimanded, 
and  the  General  laid  it  on  pretty  heavy. 

"I  remained  at  headquarters  till  the  treaty  was  concluded,  and 
then  returned  to  Fort  Wayne.  While  at  Fort  Wayne,  I  received 
many  letters  from  my  brothers,  urging  me  to  resign.  I  had  not 
seen  them  for  ten  years.  Those  letters  held  out  the  idea  that 
they  would  make  tny  fortune.  That,  (and  a  desire  to  return  to  the 
land  of  my  early  habits,  and  to  see  my  brothers  and  sisters,  who 
had  grown  from  children  to  be  men  and  women,  and  most  of  them 
married,)  decided  me  to  leave  the  service.  I  resigned  my  commis- 
sion and  left  Fort  Wayne  on  the  20th  of  November,  1795,  and 
passed  the  next  winter  in  Lexington,  Kentucky.  About  the  ist  of 
March  following,  I  rode  through  to  Limestone,  (Maysville.)    I  there 


224  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  1783. 


got  into  a  quartermaster's  boat,  and,  in  al)out  three  weeks,  landed 
at  Wiieeling,  Virginia.  I  spent  a  few  days  with  tiie  widow  of  my 
brother  Samuel,  who  had  died  on  the  Christmas  previous.  I  then 
purchased  a  horse,  and  reached  home  about  the  20th  of  July.  I 
went  first  to  Captain  William  Gray's,  my  brother-in-law.  My  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Gray,  came  to  the  door,  and,  as  I  inquired  for  Mr.  Gray, 
she  put  on  rather  an  important  look,  and  replied  :  '  I  presume  you 
will  find  him  at  the  store,'  and  turned  into  the  parlor.  I  was  about 
turning  on  my  heel,  when  I  heard  steps  in  the  entry,  and,  turning 
round,  I  saw  my  sister  Hannah.  She  immediately  raised  her  hands 
and  exclaimed  :  '  My  brother  Hugh  !'  and  flew  into  my  arms.  This 
was  not  a  little  surprising,  as  when  she  saw  me  last  she  could  not 
have  been  more  than  eight  years  old.  She  knew  me  by  my  resem- 
blance to  my  twin  sister,  Jane.  I  found  my  connections  all  living 
happily,  and  moving  at  the  head  of  society.  I  passed  a  happy  three 
or  four  months  with  them,  when  I  became  weary  of  an  idle  life,  and 
began  to  look  for  my  promised  fortune ;  but,  up  to  this  day,  have 
never  been  able  to  find  it.  I  remained  out  of  business  till  the  win- 
ter of  1798  and  1799.  when  I  was  appointed  a  captain  in  Adams' 
army,  and,  in  less  than  two  years,  was  disbanded.  My  brother 
William,  who  had  been  most  urgent  for  me  to  resign,  now  requested 
me  to  assist  him  to  improve  some  wild  lands  he  owned  on  the  Ma- 
honing river,  about  fifty  miles  from  Pittsburgh.  We  commenced 
this  settlement  in  the  spring  of  1802,  and,  that  summer,  built  a  grist- 
mill and  a  saw-mill.  All  our  breadstuff  had  to  be  carried  about 
thirty  miles  on  horseback.  Meat  I  procured  with  my  rifle,  deer 
being  plenty,  and  I  could  kill  them  without  much  loss  of  time  from 
other  business. 

"I  married  in  1805,  and  took  my  wife  to  our  place  in  1806, 
where  Sarah  and  Preston  were  born.  During  the  time  we  were 
there,  we  were  happy,  and  had  a  plenty  of  such  things  as  the  coun- 
try afforded.  All  being  on  an  equality,  as  regarded  our  resources, 
were  not  annoyed  by  the  insolence  of  wealth.  Still,  I  saw  that  my 
fortune  could  not  be  made  there,  and,  in  1810,  I  returned,  with 
my  family,  to  Northumberland,  and  got  along  as  well  as  I  could, 
until  1812,  when  the  war  again  called  me  into  service;  since  which 
time  the  Government  has  provided  for  me.  I  have  rendered  her 
some  service,  and,  with  my  brother  officers,  have  kept  my  shoulder 


1783.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  225 

to  the  wheel.  This  was  no  more  than  onr  duty  to  a  country  which 
supports  us,  and  of  which  we  are  justly  proud. 

"Thus,  I  have  given  a  sketch  of  my  life,  containing  nothing  un- 
usual or  strange  among  those  of  my  day  and  generation.  But  what 
a  wonderful  generation  it  has  been — the  most  wonderful  of  any  since 
the  days  of  our  Saviour  ! 

"I  have  already  stated  that  my  brother  James  fell  by  the  Indians, 
in  1778.  It  was  in  this  manner  :  With  ten  or  twelve  others  he  went 
to  help  a  neighbor  harvest  his  wheat,  about  ten  miles  from  the 
nearest  station.  On  entering  the  field,  they  placed  a  sentinel  at  the 
most  exposed  point,  and  their  arms  convenient  to  their  work. 
They  had  worked  but  a  short  time  when  the  sentinel  gave  an  alarm. 
They  all  ran  to  their  arms,  but  it  proved  to  be  a  false  alarm.  After 
reprimanding  the  sentinel  for  his  unsoldierly  conduct,  they  returned 
to  their  work;  but  they  had  not  long  been  reaping  when  they  heard 
the  report  of  a  rifle,  and  their  sentinel  was  killed.  Without  noticing 
the  conduct  of  others,  my  brother  ran  to  his  rifle,  and  as  he  stooped 
to  pick  it  up,  he  received  a  shot  which  broke  his  arm.  This  caused 
him  to  fall  forwards,  and  before  he  could  recover,  a  stout  Indian 
was  upon  him,  tomahawked  him,  scalped  him,  and  left  him  for  dead. 
After  the  Indians  left  the  field,  my  brother  recovered  and  went  to 
the  house,  where  he  found  the  rest  of  the  reapers  who  had  run  from 
the  field  without  their  arms,  and  without  making  any  attempt  to  de- 
fend or  rescue  him.  They  sent  James  to  his  parents,  at  Sunbury, 
forty  miles  from  the  spot  where  he  received  his  wound,  which  was 
on  Saturday.  He  lived  till  the  Thursday  following,  retained  his 
senses,  and  related  what  is  stated  above. 

"  James  Brady  was  a  remarkable  man.  Nature  had  done  much 
for  him.  His  person  was  fine.  He  lacked  but  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
of  six  feet,  and  his  mind  was  as  well  finished  as  his  person.  I  have 
ever  placed  him  by  the  side  of  Jonathan,  son  of  Saul,  for  beauty  of 
person,  and  nobleness  of  soul,  and  like  him,  he  fell  by  the  hands  of 
the  Philistines. 

"  My  lather  was  killed  on  the  nth  of  April,  1779,  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  from  his  own  house.  He  had  left  that  morning  at  the 
head  of  a  party  of  men,  to  move  in  a  family  that  had  wintered  at 
their  farm,  about  ten  miles  from  my  father's  place.  Having  seen 
no  sign  of  Indians,  my  father  stopped  at  Wallis's  Fort,  and  let  the 
15 





226  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  V'ALLEY.  [1783. 


party  go  on  with  the  family.  He  was  the  only  person  mounted, 
and  intended,  soon,  to  overtake  the  party,  but  unfortunately  for  him, 
his  family,  and  the  settlement,  he  overtook  a  man  who  had  fallen 
behind,  and  remained  with  him  till  the  Indians  shot  him  dead.  The 
man  escaped  by  mounting  my  father's  horse,  after  he  had  fallen. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  this  man,  Peter  Smith,  was  in  the  field 
where  my  brother  was  killed,  and  afterwards,  his  own  family  was 
mostly  destroyed  by  Indians,  and  he  again  escaped.  After  the  war 
he  settled  in  the  Genesee  country,  and  became  a  wealthy  man. 
Some  men  are  born  to  luck. 

[ISOTE. — It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  although  General  Brady  fre- 
quently sought,  he  was  never  successful  in  finding,  the  spot  where 
his  father  was  interred.  One  of  his  surviving  daughters,  Mrs. 
Backus,  wife  of  Major  Backus,  was  providentially  made  acquainted 
with  the  spot,  during  a  visit  (1851)  to  the  place  of  her  grand- 
father's residence.  An  old  revolutionary  soldier,^  who  was  with  the 
father  of  General  Brady  when  he  fell,  and  had  known  and  marked 
the  place  of  his  interment,  a  short  time  before  her  visit,  had,  on  his 
death  bed,  requested  to  be  buried  beside  his  old  captain,  and  desig- 
nated the  spot.  His  request  was  granted,  and  there  lie  together  in 
the  woods,  the  captain  and  the  private  of  his  company,  in  a  place 
where  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  intend,  it  is  said,  to  erect 
an  appropriate  monument. — George  Diiffield,  D.  D.~\ 

"My  brother  John,  in  his  fifteenth  year,  was  in  the  battle  of 
Brandywine,  and  was  wounded.  On  the  retreat  he  would  have  been 
captured  had  not  his  colonel,  William  Cooke,  taken  him  up  behind 
him. 

"John  had  gone  to  the  army  with  my  father,  in  order  to  take 
home  the  horses  ridden  out,  and  was  directed  by  my  father  to  return. 
But  John  heard  from  Ensign  Boyd  that  a  battle  was  expected  to  be 
fought  soon.  He,  therefore,  remained  to  see  the  fun ;  and  when 
my  father  took  command  of  his  company,  on  the  morning  of  the 
battle,  he  found  John  in  the  ranks,  with  a  big  rifle  by  his  side.  My 
father  was  woundeii  in  the  battle,  Ensign  Boyd  was  killed,  and  John 
received  a  wound  during  the  retreat. 

"  As  one  good  turn  deserves  another,  two  of  my  brothers,  many 
years  after,  married  two  of  the  colonel's  daughters. 

'  Henry  Lebo. 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  22j 

"Captain  Samuel  Brady  entered  the  army  as  a  volunteer  when 
he  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  joined  General  Washington  at 
Boston.  A  year  after,  he  was  appointed  a  lieutenant,  and  returned 
home  to  recruit.  He  did  not  remain  long.  He  belonged  to  Cap- 
tain John  Doyle's  company,  Wayne's  brigade,  and  was  with  him  at 
the  surprise  of  Paoli.  In  1779,  his  regiment,  the  eighth  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  ordered  to  Pittsburgh.  It  was  then  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Brodhead.  Soon  after,  my  brother  heard  of  his  father's  death ; 
and  he  waited,  with  impatience,  for  an  opportunity  to  avenge  it,  on 
the  Indians.  Nor  was  the  opportunity  long  delayed.  The  Indians 
had  attacked  a  family  and  killed  all  in  it,  except  a  boy  aged  twelve, 
and  his  sister,  ten.  These  were  taken  prisoners,  aiid  their  father 
was  absent  from  home  at  the  time  it  occurred. 

"The  place  was  thirty  miles  east  of  Pittsburgh,  and  it  so  hap- 
pened Samuel  was  out  in  that  direction,  and,  hearing  of  it,  he 
started  in  pursuit,  having  with  him  a  friendly  Indian,  very  useful  as 
a  guide.  The  second  evening  of  the  pursuit  the  party  stopped  on 
the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and  the  Indian  guide  pointed  with  his  wiping 
stick  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  said,  '  The  Red  Bank  runs  there.' 
The  men  sat  down,  while  the  captain  consulted  with  the  Indian 
about  his  future  movements.  Suddenly,  the  Indian  sprang  to  his 
feet,  and  said  he  smelt  fire  \  and  soon  after  they  saw  the  smoke 
curling  above  the  trees,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Red  Bank. 

"  The  Indian  said,  '  They  will  sleep  by  that  fire  to  night.'  '  And 
I  will  awake  them  in  a  voice  of  thunder  in  the  morning,'  replied 
the  captain.  The  Indian  also  said,  '  After  they  smoke  and  eat,  and 
the  sun  has  gone  to  sleep,  they  will  give  the  scalp  halloo.' 

"With  breathless  impatience,  the  party  watched  the  setting  of 
the  sun,  and,  as  its  light  disappeared  from  the  tops  of  the  trees  in 
the  east,  they  heard  seven  distinct  scalp  halloos,  with  the  usual  whoop 
between  each.  After  it  was  over,  Cole,  the  Indian,  observed, 
'There  are  fourteen  wafriors,  and  they  have  five  scalps  and  two 
prisoners.'  The  night  being  clear  and  the  weather  mild,  the  cap- 
tain remained  in  his  position  till  near  morning,  when  he  forded  the 
stream  above  the  Indians  and  posted  his  men,  to  await  the  crack  of 
his  rifle  as  the  signal  of  attack.  As  day  broke  an  Indian  rose  up 
and  stirred  the  fire.  The  signal  was  given.  The  Indian  standing 
pitched  into  the  fire.     The  attack  continued,  and  resulted  in  eight 


22S  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1783. 

of  the  warriors  being  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  ever  again  giving 
the  scalp  halloo.  When  the  captain  got  to  the  fire  he  found  the 
children  much  alarmed.  After  cjuieting  their  fears,  the  boy  asked 
for  the  captain's  tomahawk,  and  commenced  cutting  off  the  head 
of  the  Indian  that  fell  in  the  fire,  observing  that  this  was  the  leader 
of  the  party,  and  the  man  that  killed  and  scalped  his  mother.  The 
boy  was  permitted  to  finish  the  job  he  had  commenced. 

"  Three  easy  days'  march  brought  the  captain  back  to  Pittsburgh. 
The  father  of  the  children  was  sent  for  to  receive  his  lost  ones.  He 
showed  much  affection,  on  meeting  his  children,  and  thanked  the 
captain  for  having  restored  them  ;  and  then  asked  the  captain  what 
had  become  of  his  'big  basin.'  It  appeared  the  Indians  had  carried 
off,  or  destroyed,  a  big  basin,  from  which  Henry  and  his  numerous 
family  ate  their  sourkrout.  The  honest  Dutchman  thought  there 
could  be  no  impropriety  in  asking  for  it,  of  the  man  who  had  the 
best  chance  to  know. 

"In  1804,  the  writer  met  Henry  (the  boy)  at  a  friend's  house, 
in  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  had  stopped,  with  a  wagon, 
before  the  door,  and  had  a  barrel  of  cider  for  my  friend,  who, 
pointing  to  me,  said,  '  This  gentleman  is  a  brother  of  Captain  Brady, 
who  took  you  from  the  Indians.'  Henry  was  assisting  to  remove 
the  cider,  and  he  gave  me  a  side  look  for  a  moment,  and  then  con- 
tinued his  work.  I  felt  hurt  at  the  coldness  he  showed  towards  the 
brother  of  a  man  who  had  risked  his  life  to  rescue  him  from  death 
or  bondage,  and  to  avenge  the  murder  of  his  family.  My  friend 
informed  me  that  Henry  owned  the  farm  from  which  he  was  cap- 
tured, and  was  as  rich  as  any  farmer  in  the  county.  I  thought, 
then,  if  his  circumstances  were  as  easy  as  his  manners,  he  probably 
had  at  home,  in  the  old  family  chest,  as  many  dollars  as  would  fill 
his  father's  big  basin. 

"At  the  request  of  his  colonel,  Captain  Brady  visited  the  San- 
dusky towns,  at  the  head  of  four  or  five  men,  and  lay  concealed 
over  ten  days,  so  that  he  could  see  all  their  movements.  It  was  a 
time  for  horse  racing  among  the  Indians,  and  men,  women,  children, 
and  dogs  were  all  in  attendance.  A  gray  horse  was  the  winner 
until  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  when  they  compelled  him  to 
carry  two  riders,  (a  new  way  to  handicap,)  when  he  was  finally 
beaten.     The  Indians  then  retired  from  the  field.     That  evening 


1783.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  22g 

Captain  Brady  took  two  squaws  prisoners,  and  started  for  home. 
On  the  second  day  of  their  journey  they  were  overtaken  by  a  fright- 
ful thunder  storm,  which  destroyed  their  provisions,  and  destroyed 
most  of  their  powder,  having  but  three  or  four  loads  of  good  pow- 
der left  in  a  priming  horn.  The  stormy  weather  continued  several 
days.  After  it  cleared  away,  the  captain,  just  before  night,  went 
ahead  of  his  party,  hoping  to  kill  some  game,  as  they  were  without 
provisions.  The  party  was  then  traveling  on  an  Indian  trail.  He 
had  not  gone  far  when  he  met  a  party  of  Indians  returning  from  the 
settlements,  with  a  woman  and  child,  prisoners.  The  captain  shot 
the  leader  of  the  party,  rescued  the  woman,  and  endeavored  to  ob- 
tain the  child,  that  was  strapped  to  the  back  of  the  Indian  he  had 
shot.  But  he  had  not  time  to  do  so,  as  the  Indians  had  ascertained 
that  he  was  alone,  and  had  returned  to  their  leader.  He  was,  there- 
fore, compelled  to  fall  back,  and  he  took  the  woman  with  him.  His 
men,  seeing  the  Indians,  and  supposing  the  captain  was  killed,  made 
their  way  to  the  nearest  fort,  and  let  the  squaw  run  away.  The 
other  squaw  had  escaped  during  the  great  thunder  storm.  The  next 
day  he  met  a  party  coming  from  Fort  Mcintosh,  to  bury  him,  his 
men  having  reported  him  killed.  A  few  days  after,  he  returned 
with  a  party  to  the  battle  ground,  and  found  the  dead  Indian. 

"In  1835,  '^he  writer  met,  at  the  town  of  Detroit,  a  son  of  the 
boy  that  was  strapped  to  the  back  of  the  Indian.  He  informed  me 
that  after  Wayne's  treaty,  his  father  was  delivered  up,  at  Pittsburgh, 
by  the  Indians.  When  the  land  west  of  the  Ohio  came  into  market, 
his  father  bought  the  lot  on  which  the  affair  took  place,  and  built  his 
house,  as  near  as  he  could  ascertain,  on  the  spot  where  the  Indian 
fell,  and  lived  there  till  eighteen  months  prior  to  our  conversation, 
when  he  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree.  His  name  was  Stupps, 
and  he  was  a  fine  looking  man.  I  remember  his  grandmother's 
name  was  Jane  Stupps,  and  I  have  often  heard  my  brother  relate 
the  above  story. 

"On  the  Beaver  river  is  a  place  known  as  Brady's  Bend,  where 
he  had  a  hard  fight,  and  killed  many  of  the  enemy,  with  small  loss  on 
his  own  side.  His  enterprising  disposition  and  his  skill  in  stratagems, 
in  which  he  equaled  any  Indian,  enabled  him  to  do  more  towards 
protecting  the  frontier  than  all  his  regiment  besides.  Indeed,  he 
was  looked  upon  by  the  wh51e  country  as  their  surest  protector,  and 


sjo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1783. 

all  the  recompense  he  ever  received  was  in  a  reward  of  $500,  being 
offered  by  Governor  AIcKean  for  his  person,  for  having,  in  1791, 
killed  a  party  of  Indians  on  Brady's  run,  thirty  miles  below  Pitts- 
burgh. He  surrendered  himself  for  trial,  and  was  honorably  acquit- 
ted ;  he  having  proved,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  and  jury, 
that  those  Indians  had  killed  a  family  on  the  head  of  Wheeling 
creek,  Ohio  county,  Virginia.  That,  on  receiving  notice  of  the 
murder,  he  suspected  those  Indians  had  come  out  of  Pennsylvania. 
He,  therefore,  crossed  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wheeling,  and 
by  steering  west,  came  on  the  trail,  and  pursued  it  to  where  he 
attacked  them. 

"  When  General  Wayne  arrived  at  Pittsburgh,  in  1792,  he  sent  for 
Captain  Brady,  who  lived  in  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  and  gave  him 
command  of  all  the  spies  then  in  the  employ  of  the  Government, 
amounting  to  sixty  or  seventy  men.  The  captain  so  disposed  of 
them  that  not  a  depredation  was  committed  on  the  frontier.  On  the 
contrary,  three  or  four  times  the  Indians  were  surprised  in  their  own 
country,  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  advance  of  the  white  settlements. 
His  plan  of  carrying  the  war  into  the  Indian  country  put  a  stop  to 
all  murders  on  that  frontier.  He  continued  in  command  of  these 
rangers  until  the  period  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  Christmas 
day,  1795,  at  his  house,  about  two  miles  west  of  West  Liberty,  Vir- 
ginia, (in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  his  age.)  His  disease  was  pleu- 
risy.    He  left  a  widow  and  two  sons. 

"Never  was  a  man  more  devoted  to  his  country,  and  few,  very 
few,  have  rendered  more  important  services,  if  we  consider  the 
nature  of  the  service,  and  the  part  performed  by  him  personally. 
He  was  five  feet  eleven  and  three  fourths  inches  in  heighth,  with  a 
perfect  form.  He  was  rather  light ;  his  weight  exceeding  at  no  time, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pounds.  As  I  have  said  before,  there 
were  six  brothers,  viz:  Samuel,  James,  John,  William  P.,  Hugh, 
and  Robert.  There  was  but  half  an  inch  difference  in  our  heights. 
John  was  six  feet  and  an  inch,  and  I  was  the  shortest  of  them  all. 
Is  it  not  remarkable  that  I,  who  was  considered  the  most  feeble  of 
al  ,  should  outlive  all  my  brothers,  after  having  been  exposed  to 
more  dangers  and  vicissitudes  than  any,  except  Samuel  ?  Is  it  not  a 
poof  that  there  is,  from  the  beginning,  'a  day  appointed  for  man 
to  die?'     It  is  said,  '  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  or  the  battle  to  the 


1784.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  231 

Strong,  but  safety  is  of  the  Lord.'  That  has  ever  been  my  belief." 
Among  the  deaths  this  year,  William  McCandlish,  senior,  of  Buf- 
falo. (Will  dated  nth  September.'  Children:  Peter,  John,  George, 
Grizzelda,  William,  junior,  Jennette,  Alexander,  and  Martin.  Mr. 
McCandlish  lived  on  the  place  now  owned  and  occupied  by  John 
Lesher,  in  Buffalo  township.)  William  Greenlee,  and  in  November, 
Mathias  Trinkle,  (of  Union  now.) 

In  1783  the  people  generally  returned  to  the  Valley.  Mr.  Allen 
having  died,  Mr.  McClenachan  became  sole  elder  of  the  Buffalo 
Cross-Roads  church  until  his  death,  in  June,  1784,  when  the  con- 
gregation was  without  an  elder  until  1787,  when  Matthew  Laird, 
who  had  been  an  elder  in  Big  Spring,  came  to  reside  vvithin  the  con- 
gregation.— Doctor  Grier's  Sermon. 


1^84. 


Joe  Disbury — Bear's  Mill  (now  Hoffa's)  Erected — Flood  of  1784 — 
Captain  Lowdon's  Roll — Death  of  Colonel  Samuel  Hunter. 

OUNCIL  of  Censors,  General  James  Potter,  vice  Samuel 
Hunter,  deceased.  Members  of  Assembly,  elected  in 
October,  Frederick  Antes,  Daniel  Montgomery,  and  Sam- 
uel Dale.  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  was  a  Representative  , 
for  Berks  county.  Presiding  Judge,  John  Buyers.  Sheriff,  Henry  \ 
Antes.  Lieutenant  of  the  county,  William  Wilson,  vice  Samuel 
Hunter,  deceased.  Collector  of  Excise,  Alexander  Hunter,  vice  Wil- 
liam Wilson,  resigned.  County  Commissioner,  Walter  Clark,  qual- 
ified at  November  Term. 

The  celebrated  thief,  Joe  Disbury,  was  tried.  On  his  jury  were 
Adam  Grove,  Michael  Grove,  William  Clark  and  Adam  Christ.  His 
sentence  was  severe :  That  he  should  receive  thirty-nine  lashes,  be- 
tween the  hours  of  eight  and  nine  to-morrow,  stand  in  the  pillory 


2^2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1784. 

one  hour,  have  his  ears  cut  off  and  nailed  to  the  post,  that  he  be  im- 
prisoned three  months,  anil  pay  a  tine  of  ^30  to  the  President  of  the 
State,  for  the  use  of  the  Government.  [See  his  history  in  Meginness.] 
George  Herrold  this  year  opened  the  "  Herrold  Tavern,"  on  the 
river  below  Selinsgrove,  and  Captain  Anthony  Selin  the  first  hotel 
in  Selinsgrove.  In  September,  John  Bear,  of  Lancaster,  bought  the 
Hoffa  Mills,  (now)  property  of  William  Charters,  and  erected  the  tirst 
grist-mill  there.  The  saw-mill  he  added  in  1 787  ;  and  in  1 790  he  had 
four  mills  (grist,  clover,  oil  and  saw-mill)  there. 

Additional  Residents  in  White  Deer  Township  in  1784, 

Allison,  David;  Ant,  Jacob;  Bennett,  Justice;  Bennett,  Ephraim ; 
Bennett,  Thaddeus  ;  Bentley,  Green  ;  Brown,  John;  Brown,  Joseph; 
Brown,  widow,  Elinor  ;  Buchanan,  David  ;  Buchanan,  James ;  Bu- 
chanan, James,  junior  ;  Buchanan,  William  ;  Campbell,  Alexander; 
Carnahan,  Robert;  Creal,  Michael;  Daugherty,  Daniel;  Davis,  Wil- 
liam ;  Dodds,  Andrew  ;  Dunlap,  William  ;  Feager,  widow  ;  Fisher, 
Paul;  Fisher,  Paul,  (single  ;)  Fisher,  Henry ;  Gillespie,  Captain 
Charles  ;  Gilman,  Philip ;  Gray,  George  ;  Gray,^  Neigal,  grist-mill, 
formerly  Titzel's ;  Heany,  Hieronymus  ;  Heany,  Frederick  ;  Heany, 
Philip;  Huston,  Samuel;  Iddings.  Samuel;  Iddings,  Samuel, 
(single ;)  Jordan,  William;  Jordan,  Andrew;  Judge,  William;  Kerk- 
endale,  Herman;  Landon,  Nathaniel;  Lean,  Abraham;  Lean,  Han- 
nah; Low,  widow;  McComb,  John;  McCracken,  Mary;  McLanahan, 
David  ;  McLanahan,  widow ;  Moore,  John  ;  Moore,  John,  junior  ; 
Moore,  George  ;  Morrison,  Samuel ;  Montgomery,  Samuel ;  Perry, 
Thomas ;  Plants,  Jacob  ;  Poak,  widow,  Mary  ;  Potter,  James,  Es- 
quire ;  Ramsey,  John;  Rodman,  widow,  Martha;  -Sheaffer,  Nicho- 
las :  Tenbrooke,  John ;  Turner,  Robert ;  Vandyke,  John  ;  Welsh, 
Nicholas;  Welsh,  Ludwig.  (William  Wilson,  William  Gray,  and 
William  Clark,  assessors.) 

In  a  memorial,  on  file  at  Harrisburg,  signed  by  Robert  Martin  and 
John  Frankliji,  they  state  "  that  on  the  15th  of  March,  i  784,  the  Sus- 
quehanna rose  into  a  flood,  exceeding  all  degrees  ever  before  known  ; 
that  its  rise  was  so  sudden  as  to  give  no  time  to  guard  against  its 
mischief;   that  it  swept  away  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  houses, 

'  Neigal  Gray  was  lieutenant  colonel  of  twelfth  Pennsylvania,  Continental  Line, 
appointed  from  Northampton  county. 


1 


1784.  J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  233 

with  all  the  provision,  house  furniture,  and  farming  tools  and  cattle 
of  the  owners,  and  gave  but  just  opportunity  for  the  inhabitants  to 
fly  for  their  lives  ;  that,  by  this  dreadful  calamity,  one  thousand  per- 
sons are  left  destitute  of  provisions,  clothing,  and  every  means  of  life." 

Muster-Roll  of  Captain  Joh?i  Lowdoti s  Company  of  Northumber- 
land County  Volunteers  who  marched  to  Suppress  the  Riot  at 
Wyoming,  by  Orders  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  August 
4,  1784. 

Captain — Lowdon,  John. 

Lieutenant — Vancampen,  Moses. 

Ensign — Grove,  Michael. 

Sergeants — Snyder,  Frederick ;  Vancampen,  Garret. 

Privates — Adams,  John  ;  Allen,  John  ;  Antes,  William  ;  Arm- 
strong, Hamilton ;  Armstrong,  John ;  Backinstow,  John ;  Baker, 
William  ;  Boo,  George  ;  Busher,  John  ;  Calhoon,  Matthew  ;  Camp- 
ble,  Andrew ;  Champ,  John;  Clark,  William;  Clingman,  Jacob ; 
Crawford,  Edward ;  Crawford,  James ;  Bering,  Stophel ;  Doyle, 
Samuel ;  Drake,  Samuel ;  Emmons,  Alexander ;  Eply,  Leonard  ; 
Ewing,  Jasper  :  Ewing,  John  ;  Fowler,  Eshel ;  Fowler,  Nathan  ; 
Gillespie,  Charles ;  Gibbons,  Alexander  ;  Giles,  Thomas ;  Good- 
heart,  Henry  ;  Goodman,  Daniel ;  Gettig,  Stophel ;  Grant,  Thomas; 
Gregg,  Andrew;  Gregg,  John;  Gregg,  William  ;  Hamilton, Thomas; 
Hammond,  David  ;  Hammond,  James  ;  Harris,  John  ;  Harris,  Sam- 
uel ;  Hepburn,  James  ;  Hessler,  Michael ;  Hilman,  James  ;  Hunter, 
Alexander ;  Jones,  John  ;  Keel,  John ;  Keel,  Philip  ;  Lamison,  Ja- 
cob ;  Lougan,  David  ;  Ludwick,  John  ;  Lyon,  Benjamin  ;  Marshall, 
John  ;  Martin,  Benjamin  ;  Martin,  Thomas  ;  McCoy,  Neale  ;  Mc- 
Kinney,  Abraham ;  Meads,  Ely ;  Moreland,  Thomas ;  Morrow, 
James  ;  Ogdon,  John  ;  Pearson,  George  ;  Rees,  Thomas  ;  Robins, 
Zack  ;  Rope,  Michael ;  Rurer,  Frederick  ;  Salomin,  John  ;  Shaffer, 
Adam  ;  Shaffer,  Henry ;  Smith,  Jacob  ;  Steuart,  William  ;  Stout, 
John  ;  Teterly,  George  ;  Vanderslice,  Henry  ;  Volin,  Leonard ; 
Webb,  William  ;  Weitgur,  John  ;  Weitzel,  Jacob  ;  Wheeler,  John ; 
Wilkeson,  Joseph  ;  Wilkeson,  William  ;  Wilson,  James  ;  Young, 
John. 

One  sergeant  and  twelve  men,  two  days  guarding  the  prisoners 
at  Sunbury. 


234  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1784. 

I  do  hereby  certify  the  above  muster-roll  to  be  just ;  without  fraud 

to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  or  any  individual,  according  to  my 

best  knowledge. 

John  Lowdon,  Captain. 

Mustered  the  above  company  as  specified  in  the  above  roll. 

W.  Wilson, 
Lieutenant  Northumberland  County. 
August  9,  1784. 

Deaihs. 

April  10,  Colonel  Samuel  Hunter  died,  aged  fifty-two.  His  grave 
is  near  the  site  of  Fort  Augusta,  which  he  so  heroically  defended. 
His  will  is  dated  the  29th  of  March,  and  proved  the  21st  of  June. 
His  wife's  name  was  Susanna  Scott,  sister  of  Abraham  Scott, 
formerly  member  from  Lancaster.  Colonel  Hunter  was  from  the 
county  of  Donegal,  Ireland,  and  when  he  died  had  a  mother  and 
two  brothers  still  living  there.  He  left  two  daughters,  Mary  and 
Nancy,  minors,  i.  yl/ary,  married  Samuel  Scott,  who  died  before 
her,  leaving  children,  Samuel  H.  Scott,  Sarah,  Susanna.  Samuel 
Scott  lived  on  what  is  now  the  Cake  farm,  and  was  drowned.  He 
was  a  son  of  Abraham  Scott,  who  lived  on  the  island  which  he  had 
purchased  of  Mungo  Reed,  the  original  owner.  Abraham  Scott 
died  there  in  August,  1798,  leaving  a  widow,  Sarah,  and  children, 
Samuel,  (above,)  Mary,  wife  of  General  William  Wilson,  after- 
wards of  Chillisquaque  Mills,  Susanna,  and  Sarah.  Susanna  mar- 
ried   Rose.  Their  daughter,  Isabella,  is  the  widow  of  Hon- 
orable Robert  C.  Grier,  late  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court.  2.  Nancy,  married  her  cousin,  Alexander  Hunter,  who 
died  in  June,  1810,  leaving  her  also  a  widow,  and  children,  Mary, 
Elizabeth,  Nancy,  and  Samuel. 

Henry  Vandyke,  formerly  of  Hanover  township,  Lancaster 
county,  leaving  a  widow,  Elizabeth;  children,  Lambert,  John, 
Sarah,  Hannah,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  He  resided  on  the  second 
farm  east  of  Buffalo  Cross-Roads,  now  Jackson  Ris^iel's. 

John  Forster,  of  Buffalo,  (will  proved  24th  October.)  He  left 
a  widow,  Margaret ;  eldest  son,  Thomas,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Mark 
Halfpenny;  second  son,  Andrew;  eldest  daughter,  Christena,  mar- 
ried to  John  Montgomery ;  Robert  Forster  was  his  youngest  son ; 


1785,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  235 

Jane,  second  wife  of  William  Irvine;  Elizabeth  Gray,  and  Rebecca 
McFarland.  Robert  was  the  father  of  the  late  Captain  John  Fors- 
ter,  of  Mifflinburg. 

Simon  Himrod,  elder  in  the  Dreisbach  church,  and  late  member 
of  Assembly.  He  resided  in  Turbut.  His  descendants  live  near 
Waterford,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania. 

James  McClenachan,  (in  June.)  Widow,  Sarah ;  daughters,  Mar- 
garet, Elizabeth ;  sons,  Robert,  David,  and  Andrew. 


1^85. 


Lewisburcx  laid  out  BY'  LuDwiG  Derr — Bounds  of — Fall  Election — 
Washington  Township  Erected — Widow  Smith's  Petition — Militia 
Officers. 


ICE  PRESIDENT,  Charles  Piddle.  William  Montgom- 
ery, Presiding  Justice.  Justices,  24th  January,  Simon 
Snyder,  William  Irwin;  Colonel  John  Kelly,  in  August, 
and  William  Wilson.  Sheriff,  Thomas  Grant,  elected  in 
October.  Walter  Clark,  John  Clarke,  and  William  Gray,  all  of 
Puffalo,  County  Commissioners. 

Representatives  declared  elected  :  Frederick  Antes,  Samuel  Dale, 
and  William  Maclay,  over  Daniel  Montgomery,  John  Weitzel,  andj 
Anthony  Selin.  General  Potter,  William  Maclay,  William  Mont- 
gomery, junior,  William  Gray,  and  Joseph  J.  Wallis,  Deputy  Sur- 
veyors in  the  "  old  purchase."  Lawyers  admitted :  John  W.  Kittera, 
John  Clark,  and  John  Reily,  all  officers  of  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. Vannost,  suspended  at  February  term,  for  treating  the  justices 
with  contempt,  re-admitted  at  May  term. 

Of  Buffalo  officers  :   Constable,  John  Thompson ;  quota  of  State 
tax,  ^194;   county,  ^45. 

Atnongthe  Buffalo  taxables  were  :  Armstrong,  William,  tan-yard  ; 


23b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1785, 

Baldy,  Christopher ;  Barber,  Robert,  Esquire,  who  moved  from  near 
Wrightsville  ;  BiUmyer,  Andrew  ;  Brown,  John  ;  Burd,  David,  who 
lived  where  Sherry  now  lives,  in  the  same  township  ;  Christ,  Adam  ; 
Colpetzer,  Adam,  who  lived  where  Jacob  Engle  now  lives,  in  Lime- 
stone ;  Douglass,  William ;  Evans,  Daniel ;  Everett,  Abel ;  Giles, 
Isaac;  Haughawaut,  Leffard ;  Huston,  Robert;  Jenkins,  Morgan ; 
Knox,  George,  tan-yard ;  Laughlin,  Adam ;  Mucklehenny,  John ; 
Voneida,  Philip,  who  purchased  of  John  Crider  part  of  the  Cap- 
tain Kern's  tract,  (late  Peter  Voneida  place.) 

Single  Men  in  Buffalo  Township,  in  1785 — Allison,  Archibald 
Bann,  Lewis ;    Beatty,  David ;    Black,  William ;    Black,  Thomas 
Books,  George;    Clark,  John;   Cosaith,  George;    Cough,  Adam 
Cox,  Tunis ;   Dale  Henry ;  Dale,  Christian  ;  Derr,  George  ;   Dreis- 
bach,  Martin;  Goodman,  John;  Gilkeson,  a  tailor;   Iddings,  Wil- 
liam; Ingram,  John;  Jenkins,  Morgan;  Katherman,  George ;  Leon- 
ard, Peter ;  Lewis,  Paschall ;  Lowdon,  Richard ;  McGahey,  Neal ; 
McGrady,  Captain  Samuel ;  Mook,  John  ;   Rearick,  John ;  Reese, 
John;  Rees,  Daniel;   Scott,  William;    Shively,  Henry;   Stewart, 
Archibald;  Taylor,  Christopher;  Templeton,  David;  Thompson, 
John;  Vanvalzen,  Levi;  Waggoner,  Christopher;  Wilson,  Samuel; 
Youngman,  George.     Joseph  Green,  John  Aurand,  and  Thomas 
Forster,  assessors;  which  list  they  returned  the  4th  of  January,  1786. 

Among  the  Residents  in  White  Deer  were — Allen,  Robert;  Bear, 
John ;  Coulter,  Nathaniel ;  Eaker,  Doctor  Joseph  ;  Lacock,  John  ; 
Leckey,  John  ;  McAllister,  Archibald;  McGinnes,  James;  McCorley, 
Robert,  taxed  with  negro  girl ;  Marshall,  Widow ;  Potter,  General 
James,  negro  and  one  servant ;  Vandyke,  John,  junior,  (Widow  Smith, 
grist-mill.)  In  1785,  William  Blythe's  name  disappears  from  the 
assessment  list,  and  the  two  tracts,  taken  up  in  his  daughters'  names, 
are  taxed  to  his  sons-in-law.  Captain  Charles  Gillespie  and  Doctor 
Eakers.  Daniel  Lewis'  name  disappears,  and  Paschall  Lewis  ap- 
pears in  its  place.  His  wife,  who  was  Margaret  Paschall,  was  a 
relative  of  Thomas  Paschall,  a  hatter,  of  Philadelphia,  who  owned  a 
great  amount  of  wild  lands,  was  married  three  times ;  first  to  a  man 
named  Watson,  by  whom  she  had  Jesse,  James,  (who  built  Seebold's 
mill,)  and  John  Watson,  all  settlers  in  the  Valley.  Second,  to  Ma- 
thers, by  whom  she  had  Samuel  Mathers  and  Thomas,  also  early 
settlers ;  and  third  to  Daniel  Lewis,  father  of  Paschall.     One  of  the 


1785.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  237 

Mathers  once  went  to  Philadelphia  to  get  his  share  of  the  fortune. 
He  got  as  his  share — a  lot  of  hats — enough  to  hat  the  whole  Valley, 
nearly.. 

Among  the  Penn'  s  Taxables  were — Arbogast,  John  ;  Dreis,  Jacob; 
Herrold,  Simon,  ferry  and  grist-mill ;  Miller,  Dewalt,  saw-mill ; 
Pontius,  John ;  Pontius,  Peter ;  Schoolmaster,  Abel ;  Shipton, 
Thomas;  Shisley,  Jacob,  Sinclair,  Duncan;  Smith,  David;  Stlin 
&  Snyder,,  store,  negro  slave,  and  forty  acres  of  land ;  Speakman, 
James;  Stoll,  Mathias;  Swineford,  John;  Vanhorn,  Daniel;  Weiand, 
Jacob  ;  Witmer,  Peter,  with  ferry. 

In  March,  1785,  Ludwig  Derr.laid  out  the  town  of  Lewisburg. 
Samuel  Weiser,  of  Mahanoy  township,  was  the  surveyor,  and  for  his 
services  received  lot  No.  5,  on  which  is  now  erected  the  store  of 
Walls,  Smith  &  Co.,  1870.  His  first  donation  of  lots  was  for  reli- 
gious purposes.  26th  March,  he,  with  Catherine,  his  wife,  conveyed 
lots  Nos.  42,  44,  and  46  to  Walter  Clark,  William  Gray,  and  William 
Wilson,  in  trust  for  the  Presbyterian  congregation  at  or  near  Lewis- 
burg, for  a  meeting-house  and  burying-ground. 

William  Maclay  made  the  survey  of  the  tract  the  town  stands  on 
the  28th  of  February,  1769.  Ludwig  Derr  lived  upon  it  as  early  as 
1770.  It  was  patented  on  the  nth  of  August,  1772,  to  Reverend 
Richard  Peters,  who  conveyed,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1773,  to 
Ludwig  Derr,  by  the  following  description,  "containing  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Spring  run,  below 
and  adjoining  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek."  Weiser's  survey  was  as 
follows: 

The  southern  boundary  commenced  at  a  post  at  the  river,  at  the 
the  corner  of  the  tract  on  which  the  mill  is  erected ;  thence  along 
the  land  of  the  said  Derr,  S.  80^"^  W.  121  perches  2^4  feet,  to  a 
stone;  thence  N.  about  ioj4°  W.  164  perches,  to  a  stone;  thence 
N.  about  803^°  E.  about  139  perches  2j4  feet,  to  a  post  or  stake, 
by  the  north-west  side  of  Buffalo  creek  ;  thence  down  the  creek  to  its 
mouth,  and  thence  down  the  river  to  the  place  of  beginning,  and  con- 
tained about  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  acres,  which  was  divided 
into  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  lots. 

By  the  act  of  the  31st  of  March,  181 2,  which  incorporated  "  the 
president  and  directors  of  the  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  of  the  town 
of  Lewisburg,"  the  charter  bounds  commenced  at  the  south  side 


2j8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1785. 

of  the  mouth  of  Lyman's  (formerly  called  Derr's)  run,  and  ran 
thence  up  the  south  side  of  the  run,  including  the  said  run  in  its 
meanders,  to  the  line  of  George  Derr's  land  ;  thence  along  the  same 
to  the  fording  of  Buffalo  creek ;  thence  down  the  south  side  thereof 
to  the  river,  and  down  the  river  to  the  place  of  beginning.  And  by 
the  act  of  the  21st  of  March,  1822,  incorporating  "the  borough 
of  Cevvisburg,"  the  bounds  were  still  further  increased  southerly,  as 
they  commenced  at  the  river,  at  a  corner  of  Jacob  Zentmeyer  and 
Margaret  Spidler's  land,  and  ran  along  the  same  N.  52°  W.  62 
perches,  to  a  pine ;  thence,  the  same  course,  by  land  then  of  Wil- 
liam Shaw,  James  Bennet,  James  Geddes,  George  Berryman,  and 
William  Hayes,  236  perches,  to  a  pine  on  land  of  George  Derr. 
From  this  pine  the  line  ran  N.  2°  W.  208  perches,  to  the  creek; 
thence  down  the  creek  and  river  to  the  beginning. 

Ludwig  Derr  made  a  lottery  the  same  year,  and  disposed  of  some 
of  the  lots  in  this  way,  among  the  rest,  lot  No.  21,  corner  Fourth 
and  Market,  on  which  (1877)  Doctor  Howard  Wilson  is  now  resid- 
ing, was  drawn  by  John  Brown,  and  for  which  he  paid  three  pounds, 
as  appears  by  the  deposition  of  John  Hennig,  taken  before  Colonel 
John  Kelly,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1791. 

The  very  first  lot  sold  was  No.  351,  corner  of  Water  and  St. 
Lewis,  to  William  Wilson,  26th  March. 

The  first  residents  of  Lewisburg  were  Bolinger,  John ;  Conser, 
Henry,  (Reverend  S.  L.  M.  Conser  is  a  grandson;)  Dering,  God- 
frey, (removed  to  Selinsgrove ;  one  of  his  descendants  was  post- 
master there;)  Evans,  Joseph,  cabinet-maker,  (descendants  still  in 
Lewisburg;)  Leonard,  Peter,  (descendants  still  in  Lewisburg;) 
Long,  Edward ;  Smith,  Nicholas ;  Welker,  Jacob,  tailor,  (moved  to 
Mifflinburg,  and  died  there.)  [See  1 788,  for  a  description  of  Lewis- 
burg at  that  time.]  In  September,  Ludwig  Derr  went  to  Philadel- 
phia to  sell  lots.  The  date  of  his  death  there  is  not  known.  The 
last  deed  he  signed  is  dated  October  18.  December  9,  George  Derr, 
:  Walter  Clark  ,  and  John  Weitzel,  administered  upon  his  estate.  He 
'  left  a  widow,  Catherine,  who  survived  him  a  very  short  time,  and 
only  one  heir,  George  Derr.  September  13,  Northumberland  county 
divided  into  four  election  districts,  Buffalo,  White  Deer,  and  Potter  in 
the  third,  and  held  their  elections  at  Fought's  Mill,  (near  Mifflinburg.) 
August   sessions,  Washington  township,  now  partly  in  Lycoming, 


1785.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  2jg 

erected,  the  division  line  commencing  a  short  distance  above  Widow 
Smith's  mills,  thence  west,  along  the  south  side  of  White  Deer  creek, 
to  where  Spruce  run  commences.  It  was  a  mere  sub-division  of 
White  Deer  township,  calling  the  northern  division  Washington. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  inhabitants  of  Washington,  as  thus 
erected  : 

Bennett,  Ephraim ;  Bennett,  Justice;  Bennett,  Thaddeus;  Ben- 
nett, Abraham  ;  Bennett,  William  ;  Bently,  Green  ;  Brown,  Charles; 
Brown,  Judson  ;  Brown,  William;  Caldwell,  William ;  Creal,  Mi- 
chael;  Coats,  widow;  Eason,  Robert ;  Emmons,  John  ;  Emmons, 
Jacob;  Emmons,  Jacob,  (single;)  Gray,  William,  junior;  Green, 
Ebenezer ;  Harley,  John  ;  Hendrick,  Nathan ;  Hickendoll,  Her- 
man ;  Hood,  Moses;  Huling,  Marcus  ;  Hunter,  widow  ;  Landon, 
Nathaniel;  Layn,  Abraham;  Layn,  Isaac;  Low,  Cornelius,  senior 
and  junior ;  McCormick,  Seth  ;  McCormick,  Thomas  ;  Mackey,  Wil- 
liam ;  Mitchell,  John  ;  Ramsey,  John  ;  Reynolds,  Joseph ;  Shaffer, 
Nicholas  ;  Stephen,  Adam  ;  Strieker,  John  ;  Sunderland,  Daniel ; 
Tenbrooke,  John  ;  Towsend,  Gradius ;  Towsend,  Gamaliel ;  Weeks, 
Jesse.  Assessors :  William  Gray,  Joseph  Allen,  and  Thomas  Mc- 
Cormick. 

The  fall  election  for  members  of  the  House  was  contested.  Paul 
Baldy,  John  Macpherson,  and  Samuel  Quinn,  among  others,  went  to 
Philadelphia  as  witnesses.  The  officer  reported  Richard  Sherer,  a  wit- 
ness, absent,  and  John  Gray,  another,  gone  to  Fort  Pitt.  It  appears, 
by  the  report  of  the  committee,  that  Frederick  Antes  had  41 4  votes, 
Daniel  Montgomery  410,  Samuel  Dale  414,  William  Maclay  407, 
Tohn_\Veitzel  396,  Anthony  Selin  297.  Daniel  Montgomery  was 
ousted,  and  William  Maclay  put  in,  upon  a  tie  vote,  the  Speaker 
deciding.  Twenty-five  members  signed  a  protest  against  these  pro- 
ceedings, which  seem  to  have  been  dictated  by  party  rancor,  for  the 
protestants  say  the  reason  of  the  contest  was,  that  in  one  district  the 
names  of  the  electors  on  the  poll-list  were  ten  short  of  the  number 
of  tickets  received  by  the  inspectors,  and  that  the  testimony  ac- 
couhted  for  this  defect.  They  contended  that  the  whole  election 
should  have  been  set  aside  ;  that  the  vote  of  the  House  was  destruct- 
ive to  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  an  unwarrantable  usurpation,  of 
a  very  dangerous  character. 

In  a  petition  to  the  Assembly  of  this  year  by  Catherine  Smith, 


340  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1785. 

indorsed,  read  December  8,  1785,  she  sets  forth  '-that  she  was  left 
a  widow,  with  ten  children,  with  no  estate  to  support  this  family, 
except  a  location  for  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  including  the 
mouth  of  White  Deer  creek,  whereon  is  a  good  mill-seat;  and  a  grist 
and  saw-mill  being  much  wanted  in  this  new  country,  at  that  time, 
she  wast  often  solicited  to  erect  said  mills.  At  length,  in  1774,  she 
borrowed  money,  and  in  June,  1775,  completed  the  mills,  which 
were  of  great  advantage  to  the  country,  and  the  following  summer 
built  a  boring-mill,  where  a  great  number  of  gun-barrels  were  bored 
for  the  continent,  and  a  hemp-mill.  The  Indian  war  soon  after 
coming  on,  (one  of  her  sons,  her  greatest  help,  went  into  the  army, 
and,  it  is  believed,  was  killed,  as  he  never  returned,)  the  said  mills 
soon  became  a  frontier,  and  in  July,  1779,  the  Indians  burned  the 
whole  works.  She  returned  to  the  ruins  in  1783,  and  was  again 
solicited  to  re-build  the  grist  and  saw-mills,,  which  she  has,  with 
much  difficulty,  accomplished,  and  now  ejectments  are  brought 
against  her  by  Messrs.  Claypool  and  Morris,  and  she,  being  now 
reduced  to  such  low  circumstances  as  renders  her  unable  to  support 
actions  at  law,  and,  therefore,  prays  relief,"  &c.  The  facts  set  forth 
in  this  memorial  are  certified  to  by  William  Blythe,  Charles  Gilles- 
pie, Colonel  John  Kelly,  James  Potter,  the  younger,  and  many 
other  citizens  of  Northumberland  county. 

The  Legislature,  of  course,  could  grant  no  relief,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  the  petition  was  dismissed.  How  long  the  litiga- 
tion went  on  I  am  unable  to  determine;  but  in  1801,  Seth  Iredell 
took  possession  of  the  premises  as  tenant  of  Claypoole  and  Morris. 
She  is  said  to  have  walked  to  Philadelphia  and  back  thirteen  times 
on  this  business.  Her  house  was  where  Doctor  Danousky  now 
(1874)  lives,  on  the  Henry  High  place,  part  of  the  old  stone  house 
being  still  used  as  a  kitchen.  She  was  buried  in  the  old  settlers' 
grave-yard,  which  was  at  the  corner  of  the  Dan  Caldwell  barn. 
Her  bones  were  disturbed  in  Mr.  Caldwell's  time,  in  erecting  a 
sheep-pen,  and  were  identified  by  old  Mr.  Huff,  by  her  peculiar 
projecting  teeth.  Some  years  since,  an  old  man  came  to  the  place 
and  desired  to  look  about  the  old  dwelling.  He  spent  several  hours 
about  the  place.  When  leaving,  said  he  had  come  in  from  Ohio  to 
see  it ;  that  he  was  a  son  of  Catherine  Smith,  and  that  if  justice  had 
been  done  her,  they  would  still  own  the  place.     Roily  McCorley, 


1786.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  241 

who  recollects  the  mill  last  built  by  her,  said  it  was  a  small,  round 
log  mill. 

Field  Officers  Elected  in  April. 

First  Battalion — Peter  Hosterman,  lieutenant  colonel ;  Christo- 
pher Gettig,  major. 

Fifth  Battalion — John  Kelly,  lieutenant  colonel ;  Thomas  Forster, 
major. 

Company  Officers  of  the  Fifth. 

Captains — Michael  Andrews,  William  Clark,  John  Thompson, 
Joseph  Poak,  Joseph  Green,  Samuel  McGrady,  James  Potter,  junior, 
John  Macpherson. 

Lieutenants — Adam  Harper,  Joseph  Eaker,  James  Irwin,  Samuel 
Iddings,  Henry  Pontius,  Jacob  Dreisbach,  John  Brown,  M.  Wild- 
goose. 

Ensigns — Joseph  Price,  George  Clark,  George  Books,  James 
Moore,  J.  Hunter,  James  Templeton. 


1^86. 


Slaves  in  the  Valley — Pickering's  Visit  at  G-eneral  Potter's — Buf- 
falo Valley  Soldiers  at  Saratoga — First  Fulling-Mill  Erected. 


^RESIDENT  of  the  State,  Benjamin  Franklin.     Member 
of  Council,  William  Maclay.     Members  of  Assembly, 
Frederick  Antes  and  Samuel  Dale.     Lawyers  admitted : 
on  examination,  John  Andre  Hanna  and  Charles  Smith; 
on  motion,  John  Joseph  Henry  and  Jacob  Hubley. 

Buffalo,  Officers — Collector,  George  May;  Constable,  John  Cri- 
der;  Supervisors,  George  Rote  and  Leonard  Walker;  Overseers, 
John  Aurand  and  Samuel  Mathers. 

Among  the  taxables — Carney,  Anthony  ;    Moore,  James,  tailor ; 
16 


242  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1786. 

Ohrendorf,  Henry;  Piper,  Henry;  Potts,  David:  Stephens,  Wil- 
liam ;  Straub,  Jacob ;  Swartzcope,  Anthony ;  Pool,  William,  ferry 
at .  Macpherson's.  Single  Men  :  Getz,  Adam  ;  Grove,  Philip ; 
Holmes,  Jonathan. 

In  Lewisburg,  additional  residents — Armor,  Thomas ;  Hammersly, 
John;  Roan,  Flavel ;  Snodgrass,  David;  Steele,  Alexander;  Troxel, 
George ;  Williams,  William. 

White  Deer — Bear,  Isaac;  Coburn,  John;  High,  Rudolph; 
Sherer,  Thomas ;   Sims,  William. 

Penn's — Auple,  Jonas ;  Bolender,  Adam,  junior ;  Bossier,  George; 
Businger,  Conrad ;  Dauberman,  Christian  ;  Devore,  Abram  ;  Gar- 
mon,  John;  Gemberling,  Jacob;  Giltner,  Jacob;  Gross,  Henry; 
Gruber,  Christian  ;  Mertz,  Philip  ;  Nerhood,  Henry  ;  Winkelpleck, 
Henry. 

In  the  Valley,  Eli  Holman,  Samuel  Hunter,  and  John  Linn  are 
each  taxed  with  female  slaves.  From  the  bill  of  sale,  it  appears  John 
Linn  purchased  his  slave,  called  "Judy,"  of  John  McBeth,  of  Ches- 
ter county,  on  the  loth  of  April,  1786.  After  residing  fifty-eight 
years  in  the  Valley,  she  removed  with  John  Linn's  (second)  family 
to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  died  near  Mount  Vernon,  in  that  county, 
November  4,  1855,  upward  of  one  hundred  years  old. 

In  March,  George  Derr  and  his  mother  sold  George  Langs  the 
ground  between  the  railroad  bridge  and  the  site  of  the  old  wagon 
bridge.  It  is  not  included  in  the  town  plan  of  Lewisburg,  or  laid 
out  in  lots  by  number.  At  the  same  time,  William  Williams  bought 
No.  343,  in  Lewisburg,  built  a  stone  house,  still  standing,  (Martin 
Hahn's,)  and  a  frame  store-room,  adjoining  it  on  the  south,  and 
opened  die  first  regular  store  in  the  town. 

At  May  sessions,  C.  Van  Gundy  was  bound  over  for  forcible  entry, 
&c.,  renewing  the  old  controversy  with  George  Derr,  Ludwig's  son. 

In  the  life  of  Colonel  T.  Pickering,  volume  2,  page  251,  is  a  letter 
from  him,  dated  August  12,  1786,  "at  Philip  Francis',  about  a  mile 
above  the  mouth  of  Muncy  creek,  and  three  miles  below  Mr.  Wal- 
lis',"  in  which  he  states  Mr.  Wallis  was  to  go  with  him  to  make  sur- 
veys in  Wyoming.  "As  Mr.  Wallis  was  not  ready,  we  spent  two 
nights  and  one  day  at  General  Potter's,  where  we  were  kindly  enter- 
tained." On  the  15  th  he  adds  :  "We  were  to  set  off  for  Tioga,  but 
my  horse  has  wounded  himself.     I  am  going  down  to  General  Pot- 


1786.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  243 

ter's  to  borrow  or  purchase  another."  This  proves  clearly  that  Gen- 
eral Potter  then  resided  on  the  Ard  farm;  just  above  i^ltvi  Columbia. 
At  August  sessions,  Andrew  Billmyer's  tavern  was  licensed.  He 
kept  two  miles  up  the  Valley,  where  his  grandson,  John  Lesher,  now 
lives.  Magdalena  Pohlhemus,  an  indentured  servant  to  E.  Younk- 
man,  presented  a  petition  to  court  to  be  allowed  her  freedom  dues ; 
and  after  giving  due  notice,  the  court  ordered  Mr.  Younkman  to 
pay  her  five  dollars  down,  and  three  dollars  next  May,  as  freedom 
dues  for  seven  year's  service. 

23d  September,  an  orphans'  court  was  held  at  the  house  of  Flavel 
Roan,  (at  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek,)  before  William  Irwin  and 
John  Keily,  justices,  when  the  applications  of  George  Martin  and 
Samuel  McClurgan  for  pensions  were  considered.  They  belonged 
to  Colonel  Cooke's  twelfth  regiment,  but  were  drafted  into  Colonel 
Daniel  Morgan's  riflemen,  sent  to  resist  Burgoyne.  They  were 
wounded  at^aratoga,  in  October,  1777. 

In  September,  George  Derr  sold  Flavel  Roan  and  Sankey  Dixon 
the  ground  between  St.  John's  street  and  St.  Anthony's,  along  the 
creek.  Sankey  and  Ann,  his  wife,  sold  out  to  Roan,  and  went  on 
West.  Sankey  had  been  sergeant  and  ensign  all  through  the  war,  in 
sixth  Pennsylvania  regiment.  He  died  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in 
1 81 4.  Roan  then  kept  the  ferry,  two  years  before  it  had  been  leased 
to  Henry  Conser,  who  sold  to  Stephen  Duchman,  the  latter  to  Roan. 
Christopher  Weiser  built  the  fii"st  fulling-mill  in  the  Valley,  on  Tur- 
tle creek,  on  what  is  now  Peter  Wolfe's  place,  and  James  Watson 
built  the  first  grist-mill,  erected  at  Seebold's,  above  New  Berlin. 

Deaihs. 

Catharine,  widow  of  Ludwig  Derr. 

Captain  John  Forster,  often  mentioned  in  Brady's  adventures. 
His  old  log  house  stood  to  the  left  of  the  road  to  Hoffa's  mills,  be- 
yond Rishel's  stone  house.  He  left  a  widow,  Jane.  First  son,  James, 
afterwards  married  to  a  daughter  of  William  Clark,  to  whom  he 
willed  the  old  place.  James  moved  to  Ohio.  His  son  John,  who  lived 
in  Brush  valley,  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  William  C.  Duncan,  of 
Lewisburg.  Second  son,  William,  a  bachelor,  said  to  be  the  first 
white  child  born  in  the  Valley.  Third,  John  Forster,  so  long  a  part- 
ner of  James  Duncan,  at  Aaronsburg.     (Descendants  :   Sarah,  mar- 


244  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1787. 

ried  to  William  Vanvalzah ;  Emeline,  to  S.  S.  Barber ;  Margaret, 
to  Doctor  Charles  Wilson  ;  Jane,  to  R.  B.  Barber,  Esquire.)  Fourth, 
daughters  :   Agnes,  Margaret,  and  Dorcas. 

James  Jenkins,  aged  eighty-two,  left  widow,  Phoebe,  and  sons 
William  and  James. 

Cornelius  Dimpsey,  left  widow,  and  children,  Mary,  James,  and 
Jonathan.  Captain  James  Thompson  bought  the  place  of  his  widow, 
in  1 796,  late  Jacob  Zeibach's,  in  Kelly. 

Lietenant  Colonel  Neigal  Gray,  twelfth  Pennsylvania,  of  White 
Deer.  Children  :  John  ;  Elizabeth,  married  John  Auld  ;  Isabella, 
and  Robert. 


17§^. 


Families  in  Write  Deer  Hole  Valley — Andrew  Gregg's  Wedding — 
Call  to  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison — Members  of  his  Congregation- 

EMBERS  of  Assembly  :  Samuel  Maclay  and  John  White. 
Sheriff,  Thomas  Grant.  County  Commissioners,  John 
Lytle,  Walter  Clark,  and  William  Gray. 

Buffalo  township:  Constable,  John  Clark;  Overseers, 
David  Watson  and  Michael  Vought ;  Supervisors,  Thomas  Forster 
and  Andrew  Billmyer ;  Assessor,  William  Irwin,  Esquire ;  Assist- 
ants, William  Moore  and  Flavel  Roan ;  Collector,  John  Sierer. 
Among  residents — Anderson,  William;  Barber,  Thomas ;  Barber, 
Samuel ;  Baum,  Charles ;  Carothers,  William ;  Dixon,  Sankey ; 
Getz,  Adam;  Irwin,  Matthew;  Johnson,  Christopher;  Nevius, 
Christian ;  Pickle,  Jacob ;  Wales,  Henry. 

White  Deer,  additional  residents — Falls,  James  ;  Farley,  Caleb; 
Farley,  John;   Laird,  Matthew;  Marshall,  Richard. 

Washington — Grub,  Peter;  Hagerman,  James;  Lawson,  John; 
Sips,  Joseph;  Swan,  Samuel. 

Fenn's,  among  residents,  crc. — Ball,  George  ;  Bickle,  Simon,  dis- 
tillery; Biegh,  Frederick;  Burkert,  John;  Bright,  Michael;  Ditzler, 


1787.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  245 

John;  Grum,  Jacob;  Herrold,  Simon,  hemp-mill;  Hertz,  John; 
Kremer,  Daniel ;  Lutz,  John;  Manning,  Nathan;  Miller,  Widow, 
saw-mill ;  Motz,  John,  oil-mill ;  Mumma,  John ;  Reedy,  Peter ; 
Ruch,  John ;  Snyder,  John  ;  Stump,  William,  with  distillery ; 
Swineford,  Albright,  taxed  with  a  slave;  Zieber,  Adam. 
Isle  of  Que  :  Weaver,  Michael,  junior ;  Wayland,  George. 

Sketches  by  John  F.  Wolfinger,  Esquire. 

In  1787,  White  Deer  Hole  valley  had  fourteen  families  of  white 
settlers,  whose  names  and  places  of  residence  were  as  follows : 

1.  Rachel  Weeks,  an  old  English  widow  woman,  occupied  a 
small  log  hut  or  cabin,  near  the  mouth  of  White  Deer  Hole  creek, 
between  the  bank  of  the  river  and  where  the  fine  brick  mansion  of 
John  S.  Smith  now  stands.  Rachel  had  six  children,  named  Jeth, 
Job,  Hanna,  Jemima,  Naomi,  and  Annie. 

2.  Thomas  Weisner,  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  river  bank,  near 
where  the  bridge  at  Uniontown  now  crosses  the  river  Susquehanna, 
about  half  a  mile  north  of  Rachel  Weeks'.  Thomas,  who  had  a  wife 
and  six  or  seven  children,  afterwards  moved  away  to  parts  unknown. 

3.  John  Rumsey,  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  river  bank,  north  of 
Wiesner's,  and  had  a  wife  and  nine  children,  and  a  small  farm  here. 
He  is  supposed  to  have  come  here  from  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
soon  after  returned  to  that  State.     He  talked  English. 

4.  George  Gray,  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  river  bank,  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  Rumsey 's,  and  had  a  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren. He  talked  English,  and  worked  at  little  jobs  around  among 
his  neighbors,  but  moved  away  about  two  years  afterward  to  parts 
unknown. 

5.  Marcus  Huling,  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  river  bank,  about 
three  hundred  yards  north  of  Gray's,  and  had  a  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren. He  talked  English,  and  worked  at  his  trade,  being  a  black- 
smith. He  afterwards  moved  higher  up,  or  west,  into  the  Valley,  and 
from  thence  to  Newberry,  and  from  thence  again  to  Youngmans- 
town,  (Mifflinburg,)  and  finally  into  York  State.  He  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  cousin  of  the  Marcus  Huling,  also  a  blacksmith, 
who  lived  at  the  town  of  Milton  at  that  day. 

6.  Cornelius  Vanfleet,  a  New  Jerseyman,  occupied  a  cabin  that 


246  ANNALS  OF  BUFl'ALO  VALLEY.  [1787. 


Stood  on  the  White  Deer  Hole  creek,  a  little  west  of  the  widow 
Weeks'.  He  acted  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years,  and 
died  here  on  the  yth  of  December,  1841,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of 
his  age.     His  remains  lie  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard. 

7.  Peter  Dougherty,  an  Irishman,  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  White 
Deer  Hole  creek,  al)out  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  mouth  of  the 
creek.  He  had  a  wife  and  children,  and  afterwards  moved  farther 
west  into  the  Valley,  and  finally  out  to  the  State  of  Ohio. 

8.  Eleanor  Brown,  commonly  called  "Nellie  Brown."  She  was 
the  widow  of  Matthew  Brown,  already  noticed,  and  occupied  a 
cabin  on  the  White  Deer  Hole  creek,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
west  of  its  mouth.  She  died  at  her  son's,  William  Brown's,  cabin, 
that  stood  about  half  a  mile  west  of  her  own  cabin,  on  the  9th  of 
August,  181 4,  and  her  descendants  are  still  found  in  this  Valley  and 
its  adjacent  parts. 

9.  Samuel  Swan,  occupied  a  cabin  that  stood  about  two  hundred 
and  thirteen  yards  due  west  of  Eleanor  Brown's.  Swan  talked  Eng- 
lish, had  a  wife  and  children,  and  afterwards  moved  away  to  parts 
unknown. 

ID.  Seth  McCormick,  an  Irishman,  occupied  a  cabin  on  South 
creek,  a  branch  of  White  Deer  Hole  creek,  about  a  mile  west  of 
Swan's  cabin.  Seth  died  here  on  the  17th  of  January,  1835,  in  the 
seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  remains  lie  buried  in  the  old 
Presbyterian,  (now  Lutheran,)  grave-yard,  at  the  "stone  church," 
on  the  south-west  side  of  Penny  Hill.  He  left  a  wife  and  nine 
children,  and  his  descendants  are  still  living  here,  and  occupy  a  part 
of  their  great  ancestor's  estate. 

11.  Thomas  McCormick,  an  Irishman,  and  a  brother  of  Seth's, 
occupied  a  cabin  on  South  creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  Seth's.  He 
seems  to  have  acted  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  some  years.  He 
died  on  the  6th  of  October,  1826,  aged  sevenry-two  years,  and  his 
remains  also  lie  buried  in  the  old  grave-yard,  near  the  above  "stone 
church." 

12.  Jesse  Weeks,  a  son  of  the  widow  Weeks,  already  noticed,  oc- 
cupied a  cabin  that  stood  on  the  north  side  of  "  Sprii%  creek,"  the 
northern  branch  of  White  Deer  Hole  creek,  and  about  four  miles 
west  of  its  junction  with  "South  creek."  Jesse  Weeks  died  here, 
but  his  age  and  place  of  burial  are  unknown. 


1787.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  247 

13.  Daniel  Sunderland,  an  Englishman,  occupied  a  cabin  that 
stood  about  a  mile  further  up  on  Spring  creek,  and  he  died  there. 

14.  John  Farley,  a  New  Jerseyman,  came  here  in  1787,  from  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  with  a  wife  and  seven  children,  named  Jacob, 
Barbara,  Minard,  John,  David,  Naomi,  and  Fanny.  He  immedi- 
ately Iniilt  himself  a  log  cabin,  and  occupied  it,  on  White  Deer  Hole 
creek,  about  two  hundred  feet  from  where  the  dwelling  house  of  the 
late  Charles  Gudykunst  now  stands,  and  being  an  active  and  enter- 
prising man,  he  soon  afterwards  built  himself  a  log  grist-mill  here, 
\\\t  first  one  in  the  Valley,  as  already  stated. 

I  have  obtained  all  of  the  above  facts  relative  to  these  fourteen 
families,  (excepting  what  relates  to  their  times  of  death  and  places 
of  burial,)  from  Mr.  John  Farley,  a  son  of  the  above  John  Farley, 
and  who  is  still  living  in  our  Valley,  a  venerable  white  haired  old 
gentleman,  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  whose  house  I  visited 
for  that  purpose  on  Tuesday,  the  17th  of  July,  1870. 

He  says:  "I  was  born  in  Tewksbury  township,  Hunterdon 
county.  State  of  New  Jersey,  on  the  9th  of  July,  1783,  and  came 
here  into  this  Valley  with  my  father,  John  Farley,  in  1787,  when  I 
was  four  years  old.  And  I  have  resided  here  ever  since,  for  the 
long  space  of  eighty-three  years,  and  knew  and  remember  the  names 
of  all  the  white  settlers  that  lived  in  this  Valley  in  the  spring  of  i  7S7, 
when  I  came  here,  and  where  their  log  huts  or  cabins  stood,  and 
how  their  cabins  were  made.  My  father  built  one  of  the  same  kind 
of  cabins  here  in  1 787,  and  four  or  five  years  afterwards  he  also  built 
a  small  log  grist-mill  here,  with  but  one  pair  of  grinding  stones  in 
it ;  the  first  grist-mill  erected  in  this  Valley.  In  the  year  1800,  my 
father,  after  living  here  thirteen  years,  moved  back  to  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  But  he  died  here  in  this  Valley  in  June,  1822,  while  he 
was  up  here  on  a  visit  to  me  and  my  family.  He  was  upwards  of 
seventy  years  of  age  when  he  died,  and  my  brothers  and  sisters  are  all 
dead,  and  I  am  now  the  only  one  left  of  all  my  father's  family. 
Very  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  appearance  of  this  Val- 
ley, its  farms,  houses,  barns,  &c.,  since  I  came  here;  changes  far 
greater  than  any  I  ever  expected  to  see  here,  and  all  for  the  better." 

John  Swineford  opened  the  first  hotel  at  Middleburg,  Snyder 
county.      loth  June,  George  Derr  sells  George  Knox  as  much  water 


248  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  1.1787. 

as  will  run  out  of  an  inch  hole  at  the  bottom  of  the  race,  two  poles 
from  Derr's  house. 

29th  January,  Andrew  Gregg  was  married  by  the  Reverend  John 
Hoge  to  Martha  Potter,  daughter  of  General  James  Potter,  at  the 
latter's  residence,  the  first  farm  above  Jacob  McCorley's,  Esquire. 
Mr.  Gregg  rode  up  from  Carlisle  on  horseback,  and  brought  Mr. 
Hoge  with  him.  There  were  then  no  Presbyterian  clergymen  settled 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  some  sixteen  or  seventeen  couples 
took  advantage  of  Mr.  Hoge's  presence,  hurried  up  their  matches,  as 
Mr.  Hoge  had  to  return  to  Carlisle  within  a  limited  time. 

Andrew  Gregg  moved  to  Oldtovvn,  now  Lewistown,  where  his  first 
daughter,  Mary,  afterward  Mrs.  McLanahan,  of  Greencastle,  was 
born,  November  3,  1788.  In  1789  Mr.  Gregg  moved  to  Penn's  val- 
ley, within  two  miles  of  Old  Fort.  In  1790  he  was  elected  member 
of  Congress,  and  by  seven  successive  elections  for  several  districts, 
as  they  were  arranged  from  time  to  time,  including  one  by  a  general 
vote  over  the  whole  State,  was  continued  a  member  of  that  body  for 
sixteen  successive  years,  and  during  the  session  of  1806-180  7  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  In  December, 
1820,  Governor  Hiester  appointed  him  Secretary  of  the  Common- 
wealth. He  died  in  Bellefonte,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1835,  aged 
eighty  years.  He  had  removed  there  some  years  previous,  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  his  children.  His  wife  died  in  1815.  He  was 
born  on  the  Conodoguinet  creek,  near  Carlisle,  July  10,  1755,  and 
received  a  classical  education  ;  was  tutor  for  some  years  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  and  first  settled  at  Middletown,  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  he  kept  store.  He  had  a  fine  library,  containing  all  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics,  most  of  which  are  still  in  the  possession  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Margery  Tucker,  of  Lewisburg.  His  grandchil- 
dren. Governor  A.  G.  Curtin,  General  D.  M.  Gregg,  and  General 
John  I.  Gregg,  have  flung  far  forward  into  the  future  the  light  of 
their  family  fame. 

In  May,  1787,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison,^ 
by  the  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  congregation,  in  connection  with  the  con- 

'The  Uovercnil  Hugh  Morrison,  the  first  regular  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Uliurch  in  this  \'alloy,  came  Croui  Irclaiul,  I'rcsbytery  of  Root,  in  1786.  Among  tlic 
records  of  tlie  Synoil,  under  date  May  18, 1786,  "the  Presbytery  of  Donegal  reported 
that  they  had,  since  our  last  meeting,  admitted  Hugh  Morrison,  a  licensed  candidate 
Iroin  the  Presbytery  of  Root,  in  Ireland,"  &,c. 


1787.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  24g 

gregations  of  Northumberland  and  Sunbury,  and  among  the  records 
of  the  Synod,  May  22,  1788,  is  the  following:  Carlisle  Presbytery 
reports  that  it  has,  since  our  last  meeting,  ordained  to  the  work  of 
the  Gospel  ministry  Mr.  Samuel  W.  Wilson,  in  the  pastoral  charge 
of  "Big  Spring"  congregation,  and  Mr.  Hugh  Morrison,  in  the 
pastoral  charge  of  the  Sunbury,  Northumberland  and  Buffalo  Valley 
congregations.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  call,  for  which,  with 
other  material  in  reference  to  this  church,  I  am  indebted  to  Isaac 
Grier,  D.  D.,  of  Mifflinburg  : 

"Mr.  Hugh  Morrison,  Preacher  of  the  Gospel: 

"  Sir  :  We,  the  subscribers,  members  of  the  united  congregations 
of  Buffalo,  Sunbury,  and  Northumberland,  having  never  in  these 
places  had  the  stated  administration  of  the  Gospel  Ordinances,  yet 
highly  prizing  the  same,  and  having  a  view  to  the  advancement  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  spiritual  edification  of  ourselves  and 
families,  have  set  ourselves  to  obtain  that  blessing  among  us.  And, 
therefore,  as  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  some  of  your  labors  in 
these  places,  and  are  satisfied  with  your  soundness,  piety,  and  minis- 
terial ability  to  break  unto  us  the  bread  of  life,  we  do  most  honestly 
and  sincerely,  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Shepherd  of  the  flock,  Jesus 
Christ,  call  and  invite  you  to  come  and  take  the  pastoral  charge  and 
oversight  of  us  in  the  Lord.  And  for  your  encouragement,  we  do 
promise,  if  God  shall  dispose  your  heart  to  embrace  this  our  call, 
that  we  will  pay  a  dutiful  attention  to  the  ■  word  and  ordinances  of 
God  by  you  administered ;  that  we  will  be  subject  to  your  adminis- 
trations and  reproofs,  should  our  falls  and  miscarriages  expose  us 
thereto ;  and  will  submit  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  exercised 
by  you  agreeably  to  the  word  of  God.  And,  also,  that  we  will  treat 
your  person  with  friendship  and  respect,  and  behave  in  all  things 
towards  you  as  becomes  a  christian  society  to  behave  towards  their 
pastor,  who  labors  among  them  in  word  and  doctrine.  Further,  we 
are  persuaded  that  those  who  serve  at  the  altar,  should  live  by  the 
altar.  We  do  promise,  in  order  that  you  may  be  as  much  as  possible 
freed  from  worldly  incumbrances,  to  provide  for  you  comfortable 
and  honorable  maintenance,  in  the  manner  as  set  forth  in  our  sub- 
scription papers  attending  this  our  call,  during  your  continuance 
with  us  as  our  regular  pastor.     In  witness  of  our  hearty  desire  to  have 


2JO  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1787. 

you  settle  among  us,  we  hereunto  set  our  names  this  31st  day  of 
May,  1787." 

Signed  by  seventeen  from  Northumberland,  eight  from  Sunbury, 
and  forty-eight  from  Buffalo.     On  it  is  the  following  deputation  : 

"We,  the  undersigned,  do  nominate,  appoint,  and  intrust  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Wilson  with  the  annexed  call  for  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Morrison,  to  be  by  him  presented  to  the  moderator  of  the  Carlisle 
Presbytery,  for  the  purpose  mentioned.  Signed  :  William  Gray  and 
Abram  Scott,  for  Sunbury  ;  William  Cooke  and  James  Hepburn,  for 
Northumberland  ;   and  William  Clark,  for  Buffalo." 

In  October,  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison  became  pastor  of  the  Buf- 
falo Cross-Roads  Presbyterian  church.  The  congregation  engaged 
to  pay  him  ^^75  per  year.  From  a  list  of  contributing  members 
found  in  the  treasurer's  book,  I  gather  the  following  names  :  An- 
derson, John;  Allen,  Joseph;  Baldy,  Christopher;  Barrett,  James; 
Black,  Thomas  ;  ^Boyd,  James  ;  ^Brady,  John  ;  ^Buchanan,  James  ; 
^Charters,  William;  Clarke,  Captain  John;  Clark,  Robert;  ^Clark, 
Walter;  'Clark,  William;  Cox,  Samuel ;  Cox,  Tunis  ;  Davis,  David  ; 
'Davis,  John ;  Derr,  George  ;  'Douglass,  William  ;  Dugan,  William  ; 
Elder,  Thomas  ;  Evans,  Joseph  ;  'Farley,  John  ,  Fleming,  William  ; 
'Forster,  Andrew;  'Forster,  James;  'Fruit, Robert;  Graham, Edward ; 
'Gray,  John;  Gray,  Captain  William;  Green,  Joseph;  Grogan, 
Charles;  Hammersly,  George;  'Holmes,  Jonathan;  Hudson,  Jo- 
seph; Huntsman,  James;  Hutchinson,  Thomas;  Irvine,  William; 
Irvine,  Matthew;  'Irwin;  William,  Esquire;  Johnston,  Christopher; 
Kennedy,  Alexander;  'Kelly,  Colonel  John;  Knox,  George;  Laird, 
Matthew;  Lewis,  Paschall ;  Links,  George;  'Linn,  John;  Lowdon, 
Captain  John;  McClenachan,  William  and  Andrew;  McDougal, 
William;  McGrady,  Alexander;  Maclay,  Samuel;  Magee,  James; 
Marshall,  William;  'Miller,  Benjamin;  Milligan,  John;  Montgom- 
ery, Samuel ;  Moore,  George  ;  Nichols,  William  ;  Poak,  Charles  ; 
'Peak,  Joseph ;  'Poak,  Thomas;  Poak,  Widow;  Porter,  Samuel; 
'Ray,  John;  Rees,  Daniel;  Reznor,  John;  Roan,  Flavel ;  Rodman, 
Widow;  Rorison,  Alexander;  Scroggs,  Allen;  Sherer,  Richard 
and  Joseph;  Sims,  William;  Snodgrass,  David;  Steele,  Alexander; 
'Thompson,  Captain  James;  'Thompson,  John;  Vanvolsan,  Levi; 
'Watson,  David;  Williams,  William;  and  Wilson,  William. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Morrison's  arrival,  an  election  for  elders  re- 


1787. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  251 

suited  in  the  choice  of  Walter  Clark,  John  Linn,  William  Irwin, 
David  Watson,  John  Reznor,  and  Joseph  Allen.  The  subscriptions 
by  the  more  wealthy  attendants  upon  service  were  Andrew  Forster, 
j[^2  \  Samuel  Maclay,  John  Lowdon,  and  William  Irwin,  each,  -£\ 
\os.;   William  Irvine  ^i  ds.-.  James  Forster  j[^\  2s. 

Those  marked  ( ^ )  were  signers  of  Mr.  Morrison's  call,  and  as 
such,  in  1803,  were  sued  for  back  stipends.  The  principal  and  in- 
terest and  costs,  when  they  made  the  last  payment,  in  December, 
1810,  was  $1,179  30. 

September  17,  the  Constitution  of  United  States  was  adopted, 
and  on  December  12,  the  State  Convention  ratified  it.  The  dele- 
gates to  the  latter  from  Northumberland  county  were  Colonel 
William  Wilson  and  his  partner,  John  Boyd.  They  then  kept  store 
in  the  town  of  Northumberland.  In  1791,  Colonel  Wilson  built 
the  Chillisquaque  mills,  at  the  mouth  of  that  creek,  and  moved  to 
that  place. 

At  November  sessions,  the  road  commencing  at  the  head  of  Peon's 
valley;  thence  through  Aaronsburg  to  the  road  at  Richard  Lowdon's 
barn  ;  thence  down  the  same  to  John  Davidson's  ferry,  was  laid  out. 

Deaths. 

Alexander  Beatty,  of  New  Berlin.  Children :  Jane,  Agnes,  Hugh, 
John,  Hannah,  Sarah,  James,  and  Alexander.  The  deceased  car- 
ried on  the  first  tannery  in  the  Valley,  on  site  of  present  town  of 
New  Berlin. 

Matthew  Young,  of  Buffalo.  Children  :  Margaret,  (see  her  cap- 
ture, related  1781,)  still  living,  in  1787,  John,  Sarah,  and  Agnes. 
One  of  his  daughters  married  Robert  Dixon.  Sarah  was  residing  in 
Westmoreland  county,  in  March,  1796,  when  she  gave  Colonel 
Kelly  and  Captain  Thompson  a  letter  of  attorney  to  draw  her  share 
under  her  father's  will. 

John  Snyder,  original  owner  of  Selinsgrove,  brother  of  Simon, 
subsequently  Governor. 

John  McClung,  of  Buffalo.  Children  :  John,  James,  Matthew, 
Charles,  Rebecca,  Esther,  and  Elizabeth. 

Sebastian  Kerstetter,  of  Beaver.  Children :  Martin,  Lenhart, 
Peter,  Sebastian,  Catharine,  and  Margaret. 

James  Thom,  of  Buffalo. 


1^8 


Dreisbach  CnuRcn — Roads — Houses  in  Lewisburo — Matthew  Laird's 

Family. 

EMBER    of    Council,    William    Maclay.     Members  of 

Assembly,   Samuel   Maclay  and  John  White.    County 

Commissioners,  William  Gray,  Peter  Hosterman,  and 

John  Lytle.    Treasurer,  John  Buyers. 

By  act  of  26th  of  September,   the   Buffalo  election  place  was 

changed  from  Fought's  to  Andrew  Billmyer's  tavern,  on  the  road 

mentioned  below. 

In  August,  Christian  Van  Gundy,  William  Irvine,  John  Thomp- 
son, David  Watson,  and  Andrew  Billmyer  reported  that  they  had 
laid  out  the  road,  beginning  at  Derrstown,  on  the  West  Branch  ; 
thence  to  the  meeting-house,  in  Buffalo ;  thence  to  Thompson's 
mill,  on  Buffalo  creek ;  thence  to  the  east  side  of  George  Rote's 
lane,  where  it  intersects  the  road  leading  from  Davidson's  ferry  to 
the  narrows;  distance,  nine  and  a  half  miles.  (Thompson's  mill 
became  Rockey's  in  1789.)  This  is  the  road  leading  past  the  late 
Francis  Wilson's,  (by  old  Billmyer  place,)  to  Mifflinburg. 

In  November,  John  Clarke,  John  Lowdon,  and  Philip  Voneida 
reported  a  road  from  Michael  Shirtz's,  at  the  narrows  of  Penn's 
creek,  past  Peter  Kester's,  on  the  Cole  place,  to  a  pine  tree  at  the 
end  of  Colonel  Clarke's  lane.  This  is  still  the  main  road  down 
Penn's  creek,  through  Laurelton,  Hartleton,  and  then  south  of  the 
turnpike  to  Mifflinburg. 

Additional  Residents  of  Buffalo — Betz,  Abraham  ;  Bogenreif, 
Christopher ;  Caldwell,  Samuel ;   Dobbins,  Robert ;   Miller,  Chris- 

252 


1788.  J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  253 

tian  ;  Sims,  William,  weaver,  at  Alexander  McGrady's ;  Vanvalzah, 
Doctor  Robert ;  Yentzer,  Christian. 

Lewisburg — Eaton,  John;  Grove,  Wendell;  Kendig,  Jacob, 
(Isle  of  Que;)  McCracken,  Widow;  Scroggs,  Allen;  Wise,  Fred- 
erick. 

Improvements  in  White  Deer — John  Bear's  saw-mill. 

Among  Residents — Adams,  Joseph ;  Bennage,  Samuel ;  Denning, 
Samuel ;  Derr,  Frederick ;  Henning,  Philip,  distillery ;  Hoover, 
John;  Linn,  WiUiam,  on  Joseph  Brundage's  place;  McLanahan, 
Andrew ;   Perry,  Thomas. 

Single  Men,  taxed  \os.  each — Black,  Timothy;  Hammersly, 
James ;  Iddings,  Isaac ;  Iddings  Henry ;  Laird,  Moses ;  Scott, 
Thomas ;   Smith,  Ludwig. 

Penn's  Township — Bickle,  Tobias,  grist-mill ;  Brownlee,  William ; 
Bowerman,  Daniel ;  Buchtell,  John ;  Carstetter,  Bostian ;  Eberhart, 
Philip ;  Howell,  Adam ;  Kay,  Frederick ;  Koons,  John ;  Meiser, 
Henry,  saw-mill ;  Miller,  Widow,  saw-mill ;  Miller,  Benjamin ; 
Notestone,  John ;  Neiman,  Weiand ;  Pyle,  George,  distillery  and 
saw-mill;  Quinn,  William;  Quinn,  Thomas;  Rush,  Daniel;  Ship- 
ton,  Thomas,  distillery ;  Shdck,  Jacob,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Snyder, 
S. ;  Spade,  David ;  Spade,  Jacob ;  Swineford,  George. 

The  following  memorandum,  relative  to  the  Dreisbach  church,  is 
derived  from  the  late  John  Schrack,  Esquire : 

"  In  this  year  the  German  Reformed  and  Lutheran  congregations 
united  in  building  a  log  church,  where  the  Dreisbach  Church  now 
stands.  John  Pontius  had  set  apart  some  land,  on  the  south  end  of  the 
Bucher  tract,  for  a  church  and  burying- ground,  (the  family  burying- 
ground  is  still  there,)  but  Martin  Dreisbach,  senior,  offering  to  donate 
seven  and  a  half  acres  for  that  purpose,  it  was  judged  best  to  accept 
that.  On  the  part  of  the  Reformed,  John  Aurand  and  Elias  Younk- 
man  were  trustees ;  Martin  Dreisbach  and  Jacob  Grozean  were  elders ; 
Peter  Frederick  and  Henry  Dreisbach,  deacons.  On  the  Lutheran 
side,  Herman  J.  Shellhart  was  pastor ;  Christian  Storms  and  Adam 
Christ  were  trustees ;  Casper  Bower  and  Henry  Meizner,  elders ; 
Jacob  Metzgar  and  John  Sierer,  deacons.  The  names  of  some  of  the 
members  of  the  Reformed  Church  were  :  Aurand,  George  ;  Aurand, 
Henry;  Barnhart,  Matthias ;  Barnhard,  Henry;  Brown,  John;  Dreis- 
bach, John;  Dreisbach,  Jacob;  Frederick,  George;  Fisher,  George; 


2^4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1788. 

Mook,  Jacob;  Michael  Vought,  and  John  Pontius.  Of  the  Lutheran, 
John  G.  Buch,  George  Bovver,  John  Hiltnian,  Stephen  Duchman, 
Jacob  Gebhart,  John  Meizner,  Leonard  Welker,  Mathias  Alsbaugh, 
Adam  Kreichbaum,  WiUiam  Rockey,  Peter  Fisher,  Leonard  Gron- 
inger,  George  Smith,  Christoplier  Wagner,  Adam  Meizner,  George 
Buch,  Christopher  Bickel,  Jacob  Welker,  Christopher  Baldy,  John 
Crider.  Li  1839  the  log  church  was  taken  down,  and  a  brick  build- 
ing erected.  Among  the  pastors  of  this  church  were  Dietrick  Au- 
rand,  Gentzler,  Pfriemer,  Shellhart,  Geisweit,  William  Ilgen,  John 
C.  Walter,  and  Herbst,  but  the  dates  of  their  service  are  unknown." 

In  November,  William  Gray,  Esquire,  deputy  surveyor,  made  a 
re-survey  of  Lewisburg,  and  in  his  plan  indicated  the  roads  then  ex- 
isting, and  the  lots  built  upon,  with  their  occupiers. 

The  road  from  Sunbury  to  Muncy  is  marked  as  along  the  bank,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  Captain  John  Brady's  house  as 
immediately  opposite  Strohecker's  landing.  Thomas  Rees  is  marked 
as  the  owner  of  the  house  at  Strohecker's,  and  the  road  to  Penn's 
valley,  as  running  directly  west  from  it.  The  road  from  Sunbury  to 
Buffalo  and  Penn's  valley  is  marked  as  intersecting  the  last  men- 
tioned road,  some  distance  from  thS  river,  and  crossing  Lime- 
stone run,  opposite  Third  street ;  then  entering  Fourth  street,  and 
running  along  it  out  to  the  creek,  it  crossed  the  creek  at  Colonel 
Slifer's  upper  farm,  the  site  of  the  new  iron  bridge  built  there, 
then  the  site  of  High's  saw-mill,  the  remains  of  which  are  yet  visi- 
ble, where  it  intersected  a  road  leading  up  to  Gundy's  mill  above, 
and  thence  up  the  Valley.  From  High's  mill  at  the  creek  it  ran 
over  to  William  Gray's,  (there  was  no  road  then  crossing  Buffalo 
creek  at  its  mouth ;)  thence  by  Robert  Fruit's,  &c.  There  were  no 
houses  west  ot  Fourth  street,  and  the  first  one  on  it  is  where  John 
Griffin  built  a  fme  house,  (1871.)  Alexander  Steele  had  a  house 
where  John  Beeber  resided,  and  a  tan-yard,  on  that  square.  Ed- 
ward Long  lived  opposite,  on  the  Charles  Buyer  lot,  and  next  to  him, 
north,  was  Wendell  Grove.  John  Bolinger  had  a  house  on  the  alley 
behind  William  Nogel's  present  residence.  John  Hamersly  lived 
on  the  corner  of  Third  and  St.  George,  where  Reverend  Job  Harvey 
now  lives.  There  was  also  a  small  log  house,  burned  down  some 
thirty- five  years  ago  on  the  same  lot. 

On  Second,  George  Troxell  lived,  and  owned  the  adjoining  lot. 


1788.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  255 

Doctor  Buyers  built  the  present  house,  on  the  corner  of  St.  Cathe- 
rine's, where  Troxeh  lived.  There  was  a  house  also  on  Spyker's  corner, 
opposite  James  S.  Marsh's  new  residence.  Jacob  VVelker  lived  on 
the  site  of  Marsh's  new  house.  David  Snodgrass  lived  on  the  Chroni- 
cle lot,  opposite  where  his  widow  afterwards  kept  a  cake  and  beer 
saloon.  Nicholas  Smith  occupied  the  only  house  on  Market,  now 
Jonathan  Wolfe's  lot,  west  of  his  residence.  The  two  lots  where  the 
depot  now  stands  are  marked  ''  Roman  Chapel."  On  Front,  Joseph 
Evans,  cabinet-maker,  had  the  only  house,  on  the  lot  now  owned 
by  William  Cameron,  Esquire.  Joseph  Sherer  lived  on  the  corner 
of  Water  street,  where  Halfpenny's  woolen  store  or  warehouse  now  is. 

William.  Williams  had  a  store  where  Martin  Hahn's  stone  house  is 
now.  Ellenckhuysen's  ferry  was  opposite  to  it.  Henry  Conser,  prob- 
ably, lived  where  Spyker's  heirs  now  live.  He  was  the  grandfather  of 
Reverend  S.  L.  M.  Conser,  so  James  Kelly  tells  me.  Thomas  Armor, 
probably,  lived  on  the  Grifhn  lot,  and  the  only  other  inhabitant  of 
Lewisburg,  Flavel  Roan,  lived  in  Derr's  tenant  house.  Where  that 
was  I  do  not  know.  Roan  owned  three  lots,  James  Walls,  John 
Nesbit,  and  Henry  Frick's,  lying  close  together,  and  had  the  ferry 
over  Buffalo  creek.  George  Derr,  of  course,  lived  at  the  mill.  The 
old  house  stood  in  what  is  now  the  garden,  just  two  rods  north-east 
of  the  place  where  Hull's  tannery  water-pipe  taps  the  race.  George 
Knox,  father  of  Mrs.  William  Armstrong,  probably,  made  his  tan- 
yard  this  year,  where  E.  J.  Hull  now  has  his.  In  July  of  1787, 
George  Derr  conveyed  to  Knox,  for  tan-yard  purposes,  as  much 
water  as  will  run  out  of  an  inch  hole,  at  the  bottom  of  the  race,  two 
poles  from  Derr's  house. 

October  i,  William  Maclay  and  Robert  Morris,  first  United  States 
Senators  from  Pennsylvania,  elected.  A  paper  of  the  day  says  : 
"  The  landed  and  commercial  interests  of  the  State  will  be  well  rep- 
resented." 

The  Congressmen  were  elected  on  a  general  ticket,  and  not  from 
districts. 

Matthew  Laird,  who  came  to  the  Valley  this  year,  is  the  ancestor 
of  a  large  generation.  He  came  originally  from  Ireland,  where  his 
son  James  was  born.  He  was  a  wagoner  with  General  Braddock's 
army,  and  was  in  Colonel  Dunbar's  camp  when  the  news  came  back 
of  General  Braddock's  defeat,  9th  July,  1755.     [See  his  statement  in 


256  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1788. 

the  Colonial  Records,  volume  6,  page  482.]  He  says,  "a  wounded 
officer  was  carried  into  camp  on  a  sheet ;  then  they  beat  to  arms, 
on  which  the  wagoners  and  many  common  soldiers  took  to  flight, 
in  spite  of  the  sentries,  who  forced  many  to  return,  but  many  got 
away,  among  them,  this  examinant."  His  daughter,  Isabella  Black, 
was  twelve  years  old  when  he  came  to  White  Deer.  Matthew  Laird 
died  in  August,  1821.  His  children  were  James,  John,  Isabella, 
married  to  James  Black,  Moses,  (father  of  R.  H.  Laird,  Esquire,) 
who  died  in  Derry,  in  January,  1816,  Margaret,  married  to  John 
Blakeney,  Matthew,  who  died  in  Tiffin,  Ohio,  Elizabeth,  and  Ann. 
Moses  married  Jane  Hayes,  and  their  son,  Reverend  Matthew,  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Myers,  and  went  out  as  missionary  to  Africa,  dying 
there.  May  4,  1834.     Their  other  children  were  John,  Mrs.   Mc- 

Calmont,  Mrs.  Joseph  Milliken,  of  Clinton  county, ,  married 

William  Caldwell. 

Deaihs. 

Leonard  Groninger,  leaving  widow,  Elizabeth.     Children  :  Leon- 
ard, Daniel,  Jacob,  Susanna,  Margaret,  and  Elizabeth. 
Jacob  Aurand. 

John  Rearick,  senior.     Children  :   Mary  and  John. 
Margaret  Green,  wife  of  Joseph. 


1^89- 


BoUDE  Family — Residents  of  Beaver  Township — First  G-erman  Re- 
formed Pastor — Manufactures,  &c. — Deaths  of  Major  Lawrence 
Keene  and  General  James  Potter. 

RESIDENT   of  the  State,    Thomas   Mifflin.      William 
Wilson,  member    of  the  Supreme  Executive   Council. 
Samuel  Maclay  and  John  White,  members  of  Assembly. 
Ml  William  Montgomery,  President  Judge.    Abraham  Piatt, 
William  Shaw,  &c..  Associates. 

July  28th,  Jasper  Ewing,  Esquire,  appointed  Prothonotary,  vice 
Major  Lawrence  Keene,  deceased.  John  Simpson,  re-appointed 
Register  and  Recorder  ;  Frederick  Antes,  Treasurer ;  Martin  With- 
ington,  elected  Sheriff.  County  Commissioners,  John  Lytle,  Peter 
Hosterman,  and  William  Hepburn.  Commissioner's  Clerk,  H. 
Douty.     Bernard  Hubley,  Lieutenant  of  the  county. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  the  first  election  for  presidential  electors 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  General  Edward  Hand,  Colonel  George 
Gibson,  John  Arndt,  Colinson  Reed,  Lawrence  Keene,  James  Wil- 
son, James  O'Hara,  Colonel  David  Grier,  Samuel  Potts,  and  Alex- 
ander Graydon. 

November  19th,  Daniel  Brodhead,  Surveyor  General,  appointed 
the  following  deputy  surveyors  :  Henry  Vanderslice,  for  part  of 
Berks ;  Joseph  J.  Wallis,  for  part  of  Northumberland  ;  James  Harris, 
for  part  of  Mifflin ;  William  Gray,  part  east  of  the  Susquehanna. 

Officers  of  Buffalo  :   Constable,  C.  Baldy;  Overseers,  Isaac  Hanna 
and  Wendell  Baker ;  Supervisors,  William  Williams  and  James  Wat- 
son ;  Fence  Viewers,  John  Crider  and  Benjamin  Miller. 
17  257 


2^8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  1789. 


Additional  Taxables  of  Buffalo — Mathias  Alsbach ;  Henry  Fulton, 
merchant  at  .Lewisburg ;  Philip  Grove,  Jacob  Kephart,  Joseph 
Oldts,  George  Oldts,  William  Rockey,  John  Rengler,  (grist  and 
saw-mill,)  Henry  Sassaman,  John  Shuck. 

Officers  of  White  Deer — Constable,  Robert  Clark  ;  Supervisors, 
John  Lackey  and  Samuel  Dale  ;  Overseers,  Thomas  Hutchinson  and 
Richard  Irwin.  Additional  resident.  Roan  McClure,  (taxed  with  a 
negro.) 

Caleb  Farley  built  the  grist-mill  on  White  Deer  Hole  creek,  late 
Charles  Gudykunst's. 

January  ist,  Paschall  Lewis  married  to  Elizabeth  Boude  by  Colo- 
nel John  Kelly,  justice.  The  Boudes  were  a  highly  respectable 
family,  from  Lancaster  county,  one  of  whom,  Major  Thomas  Boude, 
distinguished  himself  as  an  officer  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and 
stands  connected  with  some  of  the  largest  and  most  respectable  fami- 
lies in  our  Valley.  Thomas  Barber's  wife,  Mary,  and  Robert  Bar- 
ber, Esquire's  wifj,  Sarah,  were  Boudes,  sisters  of  Mrs.  Lewis. 

Names  of  the  Residents  of  Beaver  Township,  taken  from  an  Assess- 
ment made  by  Daniel  Hassinger,  in  April,  1789. 

Albright,  Jacob ;  Aupel,  Peter  ;  Barnes,  John  ;  Beak,  Frederick  ; 
Beard,  Jacob;  Bell,  George;  Bopp,  Conrad;  Boutch,  Anthony, 
distillery;  Breiner,  Philip;  Briesenger,  Conrad;  Carrel,  Hugh;  Car- 
rel, Frederick  ;  Christy,  James  ;  Clark,  James  ;  Deininger,  Fred- 
erick; Deward,  Francis;  Dido,  Frantz;  Diese,  Michael;  Dries, 
John  ;  Dries,  Jacob  ;  Dries,  Peter  ;  Everhart,  Barnard  ;  Everhart, 
Frederick;  Gift,  Adam;  Gooden,  Moses ;  Gothers,  Henry ;  Grim, 
Jacob;  Hall,  Matthew;  Hartz,  John;  Hassinger,  Jacob;  Has- 
singer, Daniel,  saw-mill;  Hassinger,  Frederick;  Herbster,  David; 
Houser,  Jacob;  Kern,  Yost,  (Joseph;)  Kline,  George;  Kline, 
Christopher ;  Kline,  Stophel ;  Kricks,  Jacob ;  Krose,  Henry ; 
Krose,  (Gross,)  Henry,  junior ;  Krose,  Daniel ;  Laber,  John ; 
Lepley,  Jacob ;  Lewis,  Thomas ;  Manning,  Nathan ;  Mattox, 
Jacob ;  Maurer,  Michael ;  Maurer,  Michael,  junior ;  Meek,  An- 
drew; Meek,  Peter;  Meyer,  John;  Meyer,  John,  (weaver;) 
Meyer,  Mary;  Michael,  Jacob  ;  Mook,  George;  Moon,  Nathaniel; 
Moriarty,  Francis  ;   Mumma,  John  ;   Nerhood,  Henry ;   Newcomer, 


1789.)  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  259 

Peter  ;  Nyer,  Nicholas,  grist-mill ;  Oatley,  Edward  ;  Oatley,  Asa  ; 
Philips,  Benjamin;  Poe,  Jacob;  Reger,  Adam;  Reger,  Elias ; 
Reigelderfer,  Adam  ;  Roush,  Jacob  ;  Royer,  Stephen  ;  Royer,  Bas- 
tian ;  Sharred,  Jacob ;  Snyther,  John ;  Snyder,  Peter ;  Stock, 
George ;  Straub,  Andrew,  grist-mill  and  two  distilleries ;  Strayer, 
Mathias ;  Stroub,  Jacob ;  StuU,  Mathias  ;  Stump,  William,  distil- 
lery ;  Thomas,  John ;  Thomas,  George  ;  Treminer,  Paul ;  Van- 
horn,  Daniel ;  Walter,  Jacob  ;  Wannemacher,  Casper  ;  Watts,  John  ; 
Weiss,  Stophel,  grist-mill ;  Wiant,  Jacob  ;  Woods,  John  ;  Yost, 
Widow ;  Young,  Matthew.  Single  men  taxed  ten  shillings  each : 
Collins,  Joseph ;  Gift,  Anthony ;  Gross,  John ;  Hassinger,  John ; 
Hassinger,  Henry ;  Lewis,  Stephen  ;  Lewis,  Enos  ;  Manning, 
Elisha;  Manning,  Nathan;  Phillips,  Benjamin;  Sherrard,  George; 
Strayer,  Mathias. 

In  March  or  April,  the  German  Reformed  Churches  of  Mahony, 
Sunbury,  Middle  Creek,  and  Buffalo  Valley,  united  in  a  call  to  Rev- 
erend Jonathan  Rahauser,  which  he  accepted,  and  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Jacob  Meyer,  he  arrived  in  his  new  field  September  22.  He 
only  performed  such  duties  as  come  within  the  province  of  a  licen- 
tiate until  the  27th  of  June,  1791,  when  he  was  ordained,  at  Lancas- 
ter, by  the  coetus  of  the  church.  It  is  well  to  observe  here,  that  all 
regular  ministers  of  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States,  although  they  had  a  coetus,  or  assemblage  of  ministers,  of 
their  own,  from  the  year  1748,  were  under  the  care,  and  received 
their  authority  from  the  Church  of  Holland  until  about  the  year  1 791 . 
Mr.  Rahauser  was  one  of  the  first  ordained  without  authority  from 
Holland.  His  application  having  been  transmitted  thither,  and  no 
reply  received.  In  October,  1 792,  Mr.  Rahauser  removed  to  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  and  took  charge  of  the  congregation  there.  He 
died  there  September  25,  1817.  He  was  a  very  energetic  and  la- 
borious pastor,  and  caught  his  last  sickness,  in  crossing  a  swoJlen 
creek,  to  fulfill  one  of  his  appointments.  He  was  the  first  regular 
German  Reformed  clergyman  who  performed  stated  services  iji  our 
Valley.  He  died  at  the  early  age  of  ^i\.^-\.\\o..-^Harbaugh' s  '^Fath- 
ers.'' 

At  May  Session,  Samuel  Mathers,  Colonel  John  Clarke,.  John 
Macpherson,  Christian  Shively,  and  William  Moor  make  report  that 
they  have  laid  out  the  road  from  the  second  hallow  in  the  Big,  Blue 


2bo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1789. 

hill  to  Hartley's  house,  where  Peter  Kester  now  lives,  on  the  road 
from  Davidson's  ferry  to  Penn's  valley. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  a  convention  was  held  at  Paxton,  to 
take  measures  for  the  improvement  of  the  river.  Charles  Smith, 
Anthony  Selin,  William  Wilson,  Frederick  Antes,  Aaron  Levy, 
Andrew  Straub,  and  others,  were  delegates.  They  resolved  to  do 
it  by  subscriptions,  to  be  received  in  money,  grain,  or  produce  of 
any  kind.  Boyd  &  Wilson's  store,  in  Northumberland,  Yentzer  & 
Derr,  at  Lewisburg,  Selin  &  Snyder,  in  Penn's  township,  &c., 
were  designated  depositaries. 

Review  of  manufacturers ,  &'c.,  in  Buffalo  Valley,  in  1 789 — Jona- 
than Holmes,  tan-yard  ;  John  Dreisbach,  gunsmith  ;  James  Watson, 
saw  and  grist-mill ;  William  Jenkins,  grist-mill ;  Christopher  Wei- 
ser,  fulling-mill ;  William  Rockey,  saw  and  grist-mill,  formerly 
Fought's  and  John  Rengler's  grist  and  saw  mill ;  George  Wolfe, 
saw-mill ;  Benjamin  Miller,  merchant ;  George  Knox,  tan-yard ; 
George  Derr,  two  grist  and  two  saw-mills;  Henry  Fulton,  mer- 
chant ;  William  &  Alexander  Steele,  tan-yard ;  Joseph  Green,  grist 
and  saw-mill ;  Wendell  Baker,  saw  mill ;  Jacob  Groshong,  saw-mill ; 
David  Smith,  saw  and  grist-mills ;  Benjamin  Herr,  merchant ;  Alex- 
ander Beatty,  tan-yard. 

Distilleries  in  White  Deer — William  Gray,  Philip  Henning, 
Samuel  Huston,  Robert  Carnahan,  Matthew  Laird,  and  Robert 
McCorley. 

The  old  log  church  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  was  repaired  and 
somewhat  enlarged  in  October. 

Deaths. 

March  10,  Dreisbach,  Anne  Eve,  wife  of  Martin,  aged  sixty-seven. 

In  July,  Lawrence  Keene,  prothonotary.  He  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  as  captain,  in  the  eleventh  Pennsylvania,  commissioned 
February  3,  1777,  and  as  aid-de-camp  to  General  St.  Clair;  pro- 
moted major,  and  mustered  out  November  3d,  1783.  His  wife 
was  Gainor  Lukens,  a  daughter  of  John  Lukens,  Surveyor  General. 
He  left  three  children,  Samuel  L.,  who  died  in  Philadelphia,  May 
II,  1866;  Lawrence,  who  married  Maria  Martin,  daughter  of  the 
celebrated  Luther  Martin,  and  died  August  13,  1813;  and  Jesse  L. 
Keene,  who  died  November  27,  1822. 


1789.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  261 

David  McClenachan,  of  White  Deer. 

Adam  Smith,  of  Buffalo,  whose  children  were  Adam,  Mary, 
George,  Catherine  and  Barbara. 

Major  General  James  Potter  died  in  the  latter  part  of  November 
or  beginning  of  December.  James  Potter,  junior's,  letter  to  Chief 
Justice  McKean  is  dated  Penn's  valley,  December  10,  1789,  in 
which  he  states,  "doubtless  before  you  receive  this,  you  will  have 
heard  of  the  death  of  my  father. — Pennsylvania  Archives,  volume 
1 1,  page  661. 

He  was  assisting  in  building  the  chimney  of  one  of  his  tenant 
houses,  in  Penn's  valley,  and,  in  turning  about  suddenly,  injured 
himself  internally.  He  went  to  Franklin  county,  to  have  the  benefit 
of  Doctor  McClelland's  advice,  and  died  at  his  daughter's,  Mrs. 
Poe,  and  is  buried  in  a  grave-yard  at  Brown's  Mills,  near  the  present 
railroad  station  of  Marion,  in  that  county,  with  no  tablet  to  mark  his 
grave.  He  was  a  son  of  John  Potter,  the  first  sheriff  of  Cumber- 
land county,  and  in  January,  1758,  was  a  lieutenant,  with  William 
Blythe,  in  Colonel  John  Armstrong's  battalion.  He  next  appears 
in  command  of  a- company  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  who  had  mur- 
dered, that  morning,  July  26,  1764,  a  schoolmaster,  named  Brown, 
and  ten  children,  near  where  the  town  of  Greencastle  now  stands. 

He  married  a  Miss  Cathcart,  sister  of  Mrs.  George  Latimer,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  died,  leaving  a  son  and  daughter.  He  then 
married  Mrs.  Chambers,  sister  of  Captain  William  Patterson.  He 
resided  principally  on  the  Ard  farm,  in  White  Deer  township,  just 
above  New  Columbia,  though,  no  doubt,  he  changed  his  residence  on 
account  of  the  Indian  troubles.  One  year,  1781,  he  resided  in  the 
Middle  Creek  settlement,  now  Snyder  county,  as  the  asse^ments 
show,  and  family  tradition  has  ir,  his  eldest  son,  John  Potter,  died 
there.  In  1786,  Pickering  visited  him  at  the  Ard  farm,  and  in  1787, 
Mrs.  Gregg,  his  daughter,  was  married  there. 

In  personnel  he  was  short  and  stout,  with  a  hopeful  disposition, 
which  no  troubles  could  conquer.  In  a  letter,  dated  May  28,  1781, 
he  says,  "  look  where  you  will,  our  unfortunate  country  is  disturbed, 
but  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall  get  rid  of  all  these  troubles. 

His  eldest  daughter  married  Captain  James  Poe.  Mary  married 
George  Riddles,  who  died  March  14,  1796,  and  is  buried  at  North- 
umberland, in  the  Presl)yterian  church-yard.     Their  daughter,  Mary 


2b2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1789. 

A.,  married  W.  H.  Patterson  ;  Eliza,  Doctor  Joseph  B.  Ard,  whose 
heirs  still  own  the  old  place  in  White  Deer ;  Martha,  married  Mr. 
Gregg. 

General  Potter's  son  James  married  Mary  Brown,  daughter  of 
Judge  Brown,  of  Mi fiflin  county.  Of  their  children:  i.  General 
James  Potter,  (third,)  married  Maria,  daughter  of  General  William 
Wilson,  of  Chillisquaque  ;  2,  William  Potter,  Esquire,  late  of  Belle- 
fonte,  attorney-at-law ;  3,  Mary  P.,  married  Doctor  W.  I.  Wilson, 
of  Potter's  Mills;  4,  John  Potter;  5,  Martha  G.,  married  to  Abra- 
ham Valentine;  6,  Peggy  Crouch,  married  Doctor  Charles  Coburn, 
of  Aaronsburg  ;  7,  George  L.  Potter,  Esquire,  who  practiced  awhile 
at  Danville,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  who  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Doctor  W.  I.  Wilson,  of  Potter's  Mills,  is  a  great-grand- 
daughter of  the  revolutionary  general,  and  the  Governor  is  a  great- 
grandson,  on  the  Gregg  line  of  descent. 

John  Lukens,  Surveyor  General  of  the  State,  died  in  October, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead,  on  the  3d  of  No- 
vember. John  Lukens'  estate,  at  this  date,  (1877,)  is  still  before 
an  auditor  for  distribution.  Charles  Lukens  Barnes,  an  heir,  lived 
and  died  in  Lewisburg,  making  his  living  sawing  wood,  while  wait- 
ing for  his  share  of  this  veritable  Jarndyce  vs.  Jarndyce. 


Yr 


790 


Officials-  Survey  of  the  Susquehanna  for  Inland  Navigation- 
Constitution,  AND  Elections  under  it. 


-Xew 


HE  following  is  a  list  of  the  county  representatives  and 
officials  during  the  year,  under  the  Constitution  of  1 776, 
which  was  superseded  by  the  Constitution  adopted  Sep- 
tember 2,  1790:  William  Wilson,  Councilor;  Samuel 
Maclay  and  John  White,  members  of  Assembly;  William  Mont- 
gomery, Presiding  Justice;  Jasper  Ewing,  Prothonotary ;  Martin 
Withington,  Sheriff;  Peter  Hosterman,  John  Weitzel,  and  William 
Hepburn,  County  Commissioners. 

Officers  of  Buffalo  :  Constable,  C.  Baldy ;  Supervisors,  George 
May  and  Alexander  McCaley ;  Overseers,  Peter  Zeller  and  John 
Macpherson. 

Of  White  Deer :  Constable,  Robert  Fruit ;  Supervisors,  Joseph 
Poak  and  Alexander  Stephens;  Overseers,  William  Clark  and 
Robert  Martin. 

Additional  Taxables  in  Buffalo — Betzer,  William  ;  Boveard,  Wil- 
ham ;  Cress,  Conrad ;  Carroll,  William  ;  Campbell,  John  ;  Cald- 
well, William ;  Depuy,  Hugh ;  Dunlap,  William ;  Hempstead, 
Joshua  ;  Jones,  Benjamin  ;  Lourey,  Samuel ;  McDaniel,  Daniel ; 
Oatley,  Isaiah ;  Porter,  Samuel ;  Shreiner,  Nicholas  ;  Sharer,  Joseph  ; 
Wilson,  John ;  Clarke,  Joseph ;  Mann,  Philip :  Wilson,  Hugh, 
(father  of  Francis.) 

Additional  Taxables  in  Fenn's — Evans,  Frederick ;  Metterling, 
Baltzer ;  Reiber,  John ;  Stees,  Frederick ;  Snyder,  John  S. ;  Wei- 
rick,  Peter;  Zerber,  Peter;  Snyder,  Simon,  (son  of  Henry.) 

26s 


2b4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1790. 

At  February  Sessions  of  the  quarter  sessions  of  Northumberland 
county,  the  name  of  Potter  township  (now  in  Centre)  was  changed 
to  that  of  "Haines."  In  May,  Josiah  Haines  and  John  Thorn- 
burg  started  a  store  in  Lewisburg.  Prices  of  grain  at  Philadelphia, 
in  July,  were,  wheat,  9^-.  dd. ;  rye,  6^. ;  oats,  3.?.  5^.  ;  Indian  corn, 
3^.  ()(i. ;  buckwheat,  at  2s. 

Survey  of  the  Susquehanna. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  Timothy  Matlack,  John  Adlum,  and  Samuel 
Maclay  were  appointed  commissioners  to  survey  and  examine  the 
Swatara,  part  of  the  Susquehanna,  Sinnemahoning  creek,  and  the 
Allegheny  river,  with  a  view  to  the  promotion  of  inland  navigation. 
The  commissioners  started  in  May,  and  were  engaged  most  of  the 
summer  in  their  work.  Mr.  Maclay 's  journal  of  this  expedition  is 
in  the  possession  of  his  grandson,  Doctor  Samuel  Maclay,  of  Mifflin 
county. 

On  the  26th  of  April  he  started  with  James  McLaughlin's  boat, 
him,  Edward  Sweney,  and  Mathew  Gray  taken  into  pay.  They 
went  first  down  to  the  Swatara,  which,  it  appears  they  were  to  exam- 
ine, to  see  whether  it  could  be  made  navigable ;  got  to  Herrold's  on 
the  27th,  where  breakfast  and  a  quart  of  whiskey  cost  him  5^-.  2d.  ; 
then  to  Harrisburg  and  Lebanon.  The  commissioners,  however, 
for  some  reason,  failed  to  meet  him.  He,  with  the  rest  of  the  com- 
missioners, came  up  on  the  1 7th  of  May,  and  at  Herrold's  one  of  Er- 
win's  boats  came  up,  and  they  raced  from  that  to  Sunbury,  McLaugh- 
lin's boat  coming  out  ahead.  From  there  they  came  up  to  the  point 
at  Northumberland,  and  dined  with  Colonel  Wilson.  Mr.  Maclay 
then  went  over  to  visit  his  family,  in  Buffalo  Valley.  May  19,  he 
says  :  Colonel  Matlack  detained  the  boat  at  Northumberland,  to 
carry  Josiah  Haines'  goods  up  to  Derrstown,  where  he  and  one 
Thornburg  are  erecting  a  new  store.  The  boat  theii  came  up  to  T. 
Rees',  where  Mr.  Maclay  wanted  some  things  landed.  At  Derrs- 
town they  met  with  Captain  Lowdon,  who  told  Matlack  that  Rees 
had  sent  for  Mr.  Maclay,  but  Matlack  would  not  wait.  So  he  had  to 
shoulder  his  baggage  and  follow  on  foot.  He  trudged  through  the 
rain  and  l)ad  roads,  up  to  James  McLaughlin's,  opposite  the  mouth 
of  Warrior  run,  where  he  arrived  at  ten  o'clock,  and  found  the  boat 
landed. 


1790,]  '       ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  265 

Major  Adlum  was  detained  at  Northumberland  until  the  23d, 
when  he  joined  them  at  Loyal  Sock.  He  speaks  of  leveling  the  race- 
ground  at  Wallis's  Island,  (near  Muncy,  I  suppose.) 

Sunday,  23d,  they  reached  the  mouth  of  Bald  Eagle,  at  sunset,  and 
stayed  there  on  Monday,  baking  bread  and  providing  horses.  There 
they  breakfasted  with  Mrs.  Dunn.  They  leveled  the  Sinnemahon- 
ing,  and  also  made  canoes  there.  From  "canoe  place"  Mr.  Adlum 
and  part  of  the  men  started  and  run  a  line  to  the  Allegheny.  The 
object  of  the  expedition  was  to  determine  what  method  of  commu- 
nication the  country  would  admit  of,  between  the  eastern  and  west- 
ern parts  of  the  State.  He  speaks  of  catching  beaver,  and  of  the 
large  wolves  that  frequently  crossed  their  track,  in  a  very  indifferent 
manner.  On  the  14th,  he  surveyed  the  West  Branch  of  the  Sinne- 
mahoning,  and  got  a  little  above  Boyd's  whetstone  quarry.  15th, 
got  to  Bennett's  cabin,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  above  the  forks. 
July  2d,  they  reached  the  Ohio,  and  went  down  it,  having  an  In- 
dian, named  Doctor  Thomas,  for  guide.  At  the  State  line,  Con-ne- 
Shangom,  the  chief,  had  gone  to  Venango,  but  Captain  John  makes 
them  a  speech  of  welcome,  which  he  inserts  in  full  in  the  journal. 
Near  this  place  Mr.  Maclay  met  a  Dutchman,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Indians  in  the  last  war,-  and  chose  to  continue  with 
them,  and  was  living  among  them.  July  7th,  they  had  an  interview 
with  Cornplanter,  at  Jenoshawdego. 

The  Indians  were  very  jealous  of  them,  until  they  explained  their 
business.  Cornplanter  then  welcomed  them  in  a  speech,  which 
Mr.  Maclay  inserts.  He  says,  we  were  addressed  by  an  orator,  on 
behalf  of  the  women.  The  principal  points  were,  ^that  as  they, 
the  women,  had  the  hardest  part  of  the  labor  of  making  a  living, 
they  had  a  right  to  speak,  and  be  heard.  They  welcomed  them, 
because,  they  were  the  pioneers  of  the  good  roads  that  were  to  come, 
and  make  intercourse  easy  and  merchandise  cheaper,  and  they  hoped 
good  correspondence  would  make  them  all  one  people  in  the  future. 
Colonel  Matlack  responded  to  this  speech.  They  then  went  down 
to  Captain  John  O.  Beales'  town,  and  "  had  the  honor  of  his  com- 
pany for  supper."  July  14,  they  struck  the  old  French  road  to 
Erie.  He  says  the  ruts  were  quite  plain  yet.  He  says.  Lake  Erie 
is  a  fresh  water  sea.  "You  can  see  the  horizon  and  water  meet." 
They  arrived  at  Fort  Franklin,  on  the  20th.     The  commanding  ofifi- 


266  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  (1790. 

cer,  Lieutenant  Jeffries,  was  very  polite  to  them.  He  speaks  of  kill- 
ing a  cat-fish  with  Mr.  Adlum's  Jacob  staff,  which  weighed  ten  and 
one  half  pounds. 

2d  of  September,  the  new  constitution  was  adopted  by  a  conven- 
tion, convened  at  Philadelphia,  24th  November,  1789.  Simon  Sny- 
der and  Charles  Smith,'  Esquire,  were  the  delegates  from  Northum- 
berland county. 

The  first  election  under  the  new  constitution  took  place  on  the 
12th  of  October.  In  Northumberland  county,  for  Governor, 
Thomas  Mifflin  received  865  votes,  to  68  cast  for  General  Arthur 
St.  Clair.  William  Montgomery,  elected  State  Senator  without  op- 
position, having  1,029  votes.  Samuel  Maclay  and  John  White  were 
elected  members  of  Assembly,  over  Samuel  Wallis  and  Alexander 
Hunter ;  Martin  Withington,  sheriff,  over  Charles  Gobin,  John 
Boyd,  and  Flavel  Roan ;  Joseph  Lorentz,  coroner ;  and  Daniel 
Montgomery,  county  commissioner.  John  Simpson  was  re-ap- 
pointed register  and  recorder. 

It  having  been  decided  that  the  powers  of  the  House  of  Assembly 
and  State  officers  were  superseded  by  the  constitution,  on  the  2d 
of  September,  the  house  in  a  paper  filed,  September  4,  declined 
acting  longer.  On  the  20th  of  December,  the  Executive  Council 
ceased  acting,  and  on  the  21st,  Governor  Mifflin  was  inaugurated. 

February  17,  by  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison,  Hugh  Wilson  married 
to  Catherine,  daughter  of  Captain  William  Irvine. 

DeaiJns. 

George  Troxell,  of  Lewisburg. 

Christopher  Haney,  of  Haines  township.  He  was  a  private  in 
Captain  Clarke's  company,  in  1776.  His  children  were  Hieroni- 
mus,  Christopher,  Adam,  John,  Eve,  Elizabeth,  and  Frederick. 

John  Black,  of  Sunbury,  (brother  of  James,  of  Lewisburg.) 

Ulrich  Lotz.  His  children  were  John  Jacob,  Anna  Maria,  and 
Catherine.     In  his  will  he  recommends  his  children  to  adhere  strictly 

'Charles  Smith  was  the  third  son  of  Doctor  WllUam  Smith,  Provost  of  tho  Col- 
lege at  Philadelphia.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Sunbury  bar,  in  1786,  and  married, 
in  1791,  to  a  duu«htcr  of  Jasper  Yeates,  Esquire.  He  was  the  compiler  of  Smith's 
laws,  and  afterwar<i8  president  judge  of  the  Cumberland  and  Franklin  district. 
He  died  in  Philadelphia,  in  1840,  aged  seventy-five. 


1790.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  267 

to  the  advice  which  Tobias,  in  fourtli  chapter,  gives,  "Keep  God 
before  your  eyes,"  &c. 

Peter  Burns,  senior,  of  Buffalo. 

Jonas  Fought.     Children  :  Michael,  Barbara,  Ann  Elizabeth. 

John  Wierbach,  (who  lived  upon  the  place  next  above  Weiden- 
saul's  mill,  in  Hartley  now.)  He  left  a  widow,  Catherine,  who  died 
in  1804,  of  cancer.  Sons:  John,  Nicholas.  One  daughter,  married 
to  Frederick  Wise,  who  moved  to  Brush  valley.  Centre  county.  One 
married  to  John  Hoover,  and  moved  to  Clearfield,  and  one  married 
Philip  Dale.  One  of  his  daughters  was  taken  by  the  Indians.  (See 
1781.) 

Charles  Grogan,  of  Buffalo,  was  returning  home,  from  a  wood- 
chopping,  with  a  yoke  of  oxen,  one  cold  night  this  winter,  and, 
becoming  bewildered,  was  frozen  to  death.  He  left  a  widow,  sister 
of  James  Burney,  and  two  sons,  Alexander  and  James,  and  two 
daughters.  His  widow,  after  some  years,  married  Henry  Van  Gun- 
dy, and  removed  to  now  Clinton  county.  James  and  Alexander 
Grugan,  as  they  now  write  their  names,  became  the  heads  of  quite 
large  families.  Grugan  township  derives  its  name  from  this  family. 
Honorable  Coleman  Grugan,  late  associate  judge  of  Clinton  county, 
is  a  grandson  of  Charles  Grogan. — Maynard's  Clinton  County,  page 
153- 


>T 


1791. 


List  of  State  and  County  Officials — Additional  Taxables — Death  of 
Doctor  William  Plunket  —Mrs.  Samuel  Maclay's  Family  Lineage. 

OVERNOR,  Thomas  Mifflin.  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Thomas  McKean,  Edward  Shippen,  Jasper  Yeates. 
Attorney  General,  Jared  Ingersoll.  State  Treasurer, 
Christian  Febiger.  Receiver  General,  Francis  Johnston. 
Secretary  of  the  Land  Office,  David  Kennedy.  Surveyor  General, 
Daniel  Brodhead.  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  A.  J.  Dallas. 
Deputy  Secretary,  James  Trimble.  The  Judges  of  the  several  Courts 
were,  Jacob  Rush,  President ;  William  Montgomery,  Joseph  Wallis, 
Thomas  Strawbridge,  and  John  Macpherson,  Associates,  commis- 
sioned August  17.  Jasper  Ewing,  Esquire,  Prothonotary,  August  1 7. 
Member  of  Congress,  Andrew  Gregg,  representing  Bedford,  North- 
umberland, Huntingdon,  Franklin,  and  Mifflin.  Senator,  William 
Montgomery.  Members  of  Assembly,  Samuel  Maclay  and  John 
White. 

September  3,  Flavel  Roan  was  commissioned  a  Notary  Public  ;  he 
was  sole  notary  in  the  county  until  his  death  ;  John  Teitsworth  suc- 
ceeded him,  April  26,  1815  ;  Flavel  Roan  was  commissioned  Sheriff, 
October  18;  William  Hepburn,  John  Weitzel,  and  Daniel  Mont- 
gomery were  County  Commissioners ;  Bernard  Hubley,  Lieutenant 
of  the  county;  Justices  of  the  Peace  commissioned,  Colonel  Kelly, 
August  31 ;  Simon  Snyder,  October  26  ;  William  Irwin,  August  31  j 
Captain  William  Gray,  December  30  ;  for  Penn's  and  Beaver  Dam, 
John  Bishop,  August  31. 

Frederick  Evans  was  Deputy  Surveyor  of  Peters,  in  Mifflin  county, 
Haines,  Beaver  Dam,  Penn's,  and  that  part  of  Buffalo  south  of  the 


268 


i 


1791.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  26g 

Indian  purchase  of  1754;  Christopher  Bering  appointed  Collector 
of  Excise,  September  i. 

Officers  of  Buffalo  :  Constable,  Henry  Pontius ;  Supervisors,  John 
Crider  and  Peter  Kester ;  Overseers,  John  Reznor  and  William 
Irwin. 

White  Deer  :  Constable,  John  Bear ;  Supervisors,  Richard  Fruit 
and  Thomas  Hutchinson ;  Overseers,  Robert  McCorley  and  John 
Steel. 

Martin  Withington  opened  hotel  in  Mifflinburg. 

Additional  residents  in  Lewis  burg — Black,  James,  (ferry;)  Ellen- 
huysen,  Joseph  ;  Lewis,  Alexander  ;  Metzgar,  Jacob,  innkeeper ; 
Moore,  John,  blacksmith ;  Poak,  William ;  Stroh,  Nicholas. 

27th  May,  Andrew  Kennedy,  senior,  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  Siinbury  and  Northumberland  Gazette,  at  Northumberland. 
This  paper  was  extensively  circulated  in  the  Valley,  and  continued 
up  to  1813. 

Among  those  assessed  in  Buffalo  township — Barnhart,  George ; 
Barnhart,  Henry;  Black,  William;  Book,  George;  Bower,  Casper; 
Bower,  George ;  Caldwell,  Thomas;  Cox,  Tunis;  Fran tz,  Lewis; 
Fox,  Andrew;  Gettig,  Frederick;  Getz,  Peter;  Getz,  Andrew; 
Gibbons,  Edward;  Glover,  John;  Gooden,  Moses;  Graff,  (Grove,) 
Philip;  Grimes,  Samuel ;  Hixon,  John  ;  Hudson,  George;  Kelly, 
Hugh  ;  Kemmerling,  Jacob ;  Leitzell,  Anthony ;  Lowry,  Andrew  ; 
Lowry,  John;  Lowry,  Robert;  Lowry,  William;  McElrath,  Robert; 
McMurtrie,  Hugh;  Meizner,  Adam;  Metzgar,  John ;  Patton,  John; 
Richard,  Henry,  (name  which  disappears  from  the  assessment  after 
1784,  re-appears  again  with  the  supplement  "  thief,"  which  is  carried 
all  through  the  assessments  afterwards;)  Rees,  Daniel;  Roan,  Fla- 
vel ;  Sarvey,  Jacob ;  Struble,  Adam ;  Thornburg,  John  ;  Thomp- 
son, John,  erects  a  mill  to  be  driven  by  the  water  from  Thomp- 
son's spring ;  Van  Gundy,  Christian  ;  Van  Gundy,  Henry ;  Van 
Gundy,  John ;  Weeker,  William ;  Wilson,  Hugh ;  Yentzer,  Chris- 
tian ;  Zimmerman,  Christian ;  Zimmerman,  Jacob. 

4th  August,  1 79 1,  Christopher  Baldy,  William  Irwin,  and  Chris- 
tian Yentzer,  assessors.  Robert  Barber  erects  a  saw-mill  at  White 
springs. 

Penn's — Adam,  Widow ;  Berry,  Jacob  ;  Bishop,  Jacob ;  Grove, 
Adam ;    Goy,   Frederick,  distillery ;    Gwynn,   Hugh ;    Heimbach, 


2J0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1791. 

Peter ;  Housel,  Peter ;  Oberdorf,  Andrew,  grist  and  saw-mill  to 
Anthony  Selin ;  Snyder,  John,  tan-yard;  Stees,  Frederick,  grist, 
saw,  and  oil-mill ;  Thornton,  John  ;  Wilmer,  Peter,  distillery,  ferry, 
and  saw-mill. 

Beaver — Bopp,  Conrad,  hemp-mill ;  Collins,  David ;  Edmunson, 
William  ;  Hassinger,  Jacob,  tan-yard;  Johnston,  John  and  James; 
Myer,  Henry,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Myer,  Jacob,  tan-yard ;  Knepp, 
George ;  Sherrard,  Jacob,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Wise,  John,  grist  and 
saw-mill. 

Buffalo  Cross-Roads  Church. 

In  October  we  find  the  pews  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Buf- 
falo Cross-Roads  rated  and  rented  for  the  first  time.  There  were 
thirty-six  pews  or  seats.  No.  i ,  probably  reserved  for  the  minister's 
family;  No.  2,  rated  at  ^^3  5^-.,  taken  by  David  Watson,  Colonel 
John  Clarke,  Alexander  Kennedy,  and  Joseph  Clark;  No.  3, 
Thomas  Forster,  Andrew  Forster,  Robert  Forster  and  Robert  Cham- 
bers ;  No.  4,  jQT)^  Christopher  Johnston;  No.  5,  Captain  James 
Thompson,  William  Thompson,  Samuel  Porter,  and  James  Boyd; 
No.  6,  ^2  15^.,  Arthur  Clellan ;  No.  7,  Robert  Clark,  Richard 
Sherer,  and  Joseph  Allen  ;  No.  8,  Samuel  Dale,  Esquire,  and  Joseph 
Evans;  No.  9,  John  Reznor  and  David  Tate;  No.  10,  Samuel  Mac- 
lay,  (this  seat  he  retained  until  his  death,  in  181 1;)  No.  ir,  John 
Steel,  Joseph  Hudson,  and  William  Steele;  No.  12,  Joseph  Green, 
jQ\  qs.  dd.  ;  No.  13,  James  Irwin  and  Matthew  Irwin ;  No.  14,  Wil- 
liam Irwin,  Esquire,  ^2  ;  No.  15,  John  Thompson  ;  No.  16,  Benja- 
min Miller;  No.  17,  John  Ray,  William  and  Thomas  Black;  No. 
17,  Roan  McClure ;  No.  18,  Mr.  Lincoln;  No.  19,  George  Knox; 
No.  20,  Walter  Clark;  No.  21,  William  Irvine;  No.  22,  Jonathan 
Holmes  and  Joseph  Sherer ;  No.  23,  James  Poak,  William  Poak, 
Widow  Poak,  and  Thomas  Poak;  No.  24,  Edward  Graham  and  John 
Davis;  No.  25,  William  Wilson  and  James  Black;  No.  26,  vacant ; 
No.  27,  John  Linn,  John  Gray,  and  Joseph  Patterson;  No.  28, 
Robert  Fruit  and  Gideon  Smith  ;  No.  29,  William  Gray  and  Thomas 
Howard ;  No.  30,  William  Clark,  James  Forster,  and  Widow  Fors- 
ter;  No.  31,  Thomas  Elder,  David  Buchanan,  and  Robert  Elder; 
I  No.  32,  Charles  Pollock,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  and  William  Wil 
liams;   No.  33,  Colonel  John  Kelly  and  Captain  Joseph  Poak;   Nc 


i 


1791.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  2-ji 

34,  Samuel   Demming,    James   Moore,   (Widow   Moore,)    George 
Moore,  Widow  Fleming,  Thomas  Rodman,  James  Meginness  ;  No. 

35,  Adam  Laughlin,  Widow  McGradyand  James  Clelland ;  No.  36, 
Matthew  Laird  and  Andrew  McClenachan. 

With  the  meeting  of  Congress,  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  14th  of. 
October,  we  note  the  division  of  the  people  into  two  great  parties, 
the  Federalists  and  Democrats,  the  funding  of  the  public  debt,  char- 
tering the  United  States  Bank,  and  other  measures,  inflaming  the 
States  Rights  or  Democratic  party  so  much  that,  at  this  session,  they, 
for  the  first  time,  appeared  in  open  and  organized  opposition  to  the 
administration George  Read's  Life,  page  536. 

Notice  of  William  Plunket. 

William  Plunket,  the  first  presiding  justice  of  Northumberland 
county,  died  in  the  spring  of  this  year.  He  resided,  as  early  as 
1772,  a  little  above  Chillisquaque  creek,  at  his  place  called  "Sol- 
diers' Retreat,"  now  owned  by  Mr.  Solomon  Walters.  He  was  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Samuel  Maclay,  whose  lineage  is  traceable  to  John 
Harris,  senior,  whose  grave  is  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
at  Harrisburg,  in  front  of  the  residence  of  General  Simon  Cameron_ 
Near  it  are  the  remains  of  the  mulberry  to  which  he  was  tied  by  the 
Indians,  to  be  burned.  I  will  only  add  to  the  story,  that  it  was  his 
negro  slave,  Hercules,  who  crossed  the  river,  and  brought  the  neigh- 
boring Indians  to  his  rescue,  while  the  drunken  Indians  were  about 
applying  the  fire  to  him.  For  this  he  gave  Hercules  his  freedom, 
and  directed  his  burial  on  the  same  spot.  John  ^arris,  senior,  died 
in  1748.  His  wife,  Esther  Say,  was  a  lady  of  rare  endowments, 
who  came  from  England,  in  the  family  of  Judge  Shippen.  Among 
their  children  were  John,  the  proprietor  of  Harrisburg  ;  Samuel,  who 
setded  at  the  outlet  of  Cayuga  lake,  New  York,  and  a  daughter,  who 
married  Doctor  William  Plunket. 

Doctor  Plunket,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  resided  at  Carlisle,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  his  daughters,  four  in  number,  were  born  there.  His 
wife  dying,  he  remained  a  widower,  which  fact  gave  rise  to  Meginness' 
mistake  in  stating  that  he  was  a  bachelor.  His  daughters  were  Eliz- 
abeth, born  in  i  755,  married  to  Samuel  Maclay  ;  Isabella,  born  Jan- 
uary, 1760,  married  to  William  Bell,  Esquire,  of  Elizabethtown,  New 


2-^2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1791. 

Jersey ;  Margaret,  married  to  Isaac  Richardson,  removed  to  Wayne 
county.  New  York,  then  known  as  the  (jenesee  country.  She  left 
four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Israel  J.,  in  Delaware,  Ohio,  and 
David  H.,  of  Monroe  county,  New  York,  of  her  sons  are  still  living. 
Hester  Plunket,  the  youngest,  married  Colonel  Robert  Baxter,  of  the 
British  army,  and  died  about  a  year  after  her  marriage.  Her  daugh- 
ter, Margaret,  married  Doctor  Samuel  Maclay,  of  Mifflin  county. 
John  Harris'  wife,  Elizabeth  McClure,  said  to  have  been  the  most 
lovely  woman  of  her  day,  died  youn^,  from  fright  and  grief,  at  the 
report,  brought  her  by  a  neighbor,  of  her  husband's  death.  He  saw 
a  man  shot,  and  fall  off  his  horse,  in  attempting  to  swim  the  river, 
and  supposed  it  was  Mr.  Harris.  It  proved  to  be  a  young  physician, 
whom  Mr.  Harris  had  taken  up  behind  him  (25th  October,  1755.) 
Her  daughter,  Mary  Harris,  who  inherited  much  of  her  mother's 
beauty,  married  Senator  William  Maclay.  A  miniature  likeness  of 
her  is.  now  in  the  possession  of  her  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Eleanor  M. 
Brinton,  of  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Samuel  Maclay  and 
Mrs.  William  Maclay  were  cousins,  and  married  brothers. 

The  late  William  C.  Plunket,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  was  a 
nephew  of  Doctor  Plunket.  A  brother  of  Doctor  Plunket  came  to 
this  country,  bringing  with  him  a  daughter,  Margaret,  who  married 
Samuel  Simmons,  of  Pine  creek.  •  His  name  was  Robert.  Another 
brother,  David  Plunket,  settled  at  Baltimore,  and  was  lost  at  sea  on  a 
voyage  to  the  West  Indies.  Doctor  Plunket  served  in  the  French  war 
as  a  lieutenant,  and  secured  for  his  services  six  hundred  acres  of  land, 
part  now  owned  by  Judge  Dreisbach.  He  owned  large  bodies  of 
land,  and  was  on^  of  the  leaders  in  the  Pennamite  war.  He  lived 
afterward  and  died  in  the  office  owned  by  Ebenezer  Greenough,  and 
lately  occupied  by  David  Rockefeller,  Esquire,  at  Sunbury.  His 
will  is  dated  January  3,  1791,  and  proved  May  25,  1791,  in  which 
he  mentions  his  granddaughter,  Margaret  Baxter,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  accomplished  ladies  of  the  State,  who  died  at  Mil- 
roy,  Mifflin  county,  July  6,  1863. 

The  three  sisters,  Mrs.  Maclay,  Mrs.  Bell,  and  Mrs.  Richardson, 
survived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  resided  together,  in  Mifflin  county. 
Mrs.  Maclay  was  a  Presbyterian,  Mrs.  Bell  an  Episcopalian,  and  Mrs. 
Richardson  a  Quaker.  They  were  all  three  remarkable  ladies.  Mrs. 
Bell  was  a  very  handsome  and  highly  polished  woman.     She  had  a 


1792,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  273 

boarding-school  at  Albany,  New  York,  where  Mrs.  Catherine  Sedg- 
wick, and  many  of  the  celebrated  ladies  of  the  time,  received  their 
education. 


>T 


179^ 


East  and  West  Buffalo  Townships  Erected — Miffltnburg  and  New 
Berlin  Laid  out — Notice  of  Reverend  J.  G.  Phreemer — Simon  Sny- 
der's Dam  Controversy — Death  of  Captain  Anthony  Selin  and  M.  J. 
Ellenkhusen. 


EMBERS  of  Assembly,  Samuel  Dale  and  John  White. 
January  13,  General  William  Wilson  appointed  Asso- 
ciate Judge,  vice  Joseph  Wallis,  resigned.  P'ebruary  23, 
Samuel  Maclay  appointed  Associate,  also.  Flavel  Roan, 
Sheriff.  John  Weitzel,  Daniel  Montgomery,  and  Robert  Fleming,  j 
County  Commissioners.  i8th  January,  Joseph  J.  Wallis  appointed 
Deputy  Surveyor  of  Charles  Lukens'  and  William  Scull's  district, 
(both  of  whom  are  deceased,)  and  of  that  part  of  William  Maclay's 
district  north  of  Penn's  creek,  and  of  Upper  Bald  Eagle,  in  Mifflin 
county. 

Officers  of  Buffalo — Constable,  C.  Baldy ;  Supervisors,  Adam 
Christ  and  John  Sierer ;  Overseers,  William  Irvine  and  Henry  Dreis- 
bach  ;  Fence  Viewers,  Philip  Voneida  and  George  Frederick  ;  Col- 
lector, Christian  Yentzer ;  November  29,  Robert  Barber  commis- 
sioned Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Buffalo ;  School-teachers  in  Buffalo, 
Alexander  Templeton  and  George  Paget.  The  latter  taught  many 
years  at  a  school-house  near  Michael'  Grove's,  the  former  in  New 
Berlin. 

Officers  of  White  Deer — Constable,  William  Robb  ;  Supervisors, 
Andrew  McClenachan  and  John  Gray ;  Overseers,  Robert  Finney 
and  Robert  Clark. 
18 


2J4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1792. 

Additional  Taxables  of  White  Deer — Charles  Nogel,  Gideon 
Smith. 

Easi  and  West  Buffalo  Townships  Erected. 

At  January  Sessions,  William  Irwin,  Samuel  Dale,  John  Thomp- 
son, Christopher  Baldy,  Benjamin  Miller,  and  Henry  Pontius  were 
appointed  viewers  to  divide  Buffalo  township.  They  commenced 
the  line  at  two  gum  saplings,  on  the  south  bank  of  Spruce  run,  at 
the  line  of  White  Deer  and  Buffalo,  a  little  west  of  Daniel  Rengler's 
old  saw-mill,  (Applegate's ;)  thence  south  to  the  head  of  the 
spring  at  Andrew  Pontius' ;  thence  down  Switzer  run  to  its  mouth, 
at  Penn's  creek,  (Phihp  Seebold's,)  and  the  townships  were  called 
East  and  West  Buffalo.^  The  first  officers  of  this  township  were, 
Robert  Forster,  constable  ;  John  Reznor  and  Thomas  Forster,  over- 
seers; Elias  Younkman,  supervisor;  Andrew  Forster  and  Robert 
Chambers,  fence  viewers. 

At  January  Sessions,  the  road  from  Brush  valley,  by  way  of  French 
Jacob's  old  mill,  (now  Heberling's,)  to  James  Irwin's,  was  laid  out. 
George  Langs,  Henry  Dreisbach,  Matthew  Irwin,  were  of  the 
viewers.  It  commenced  at  a  black  oak,  near  the  gap  of  Buffalo 
mountain,  by  way  of  said  mill  to  a  corner  of  Wendell  Baker's  field, 
where  it  intersected  "the  meeting-house  road."  Distance,  six  miles 
fourteen  perches,  (now  road  by  way  of  Cowan.) 

Improvements  of  this  year — Wendell  Baker's  saw-mill,  (at  Cowan;) 
Alexander  Beatty's  tan-yard,  at  New  Berlin ;  Christopher  Weiser's 
fulling-mill,  on  Turtle  creek,  now  Peter  Wolfe's. 

Lower  ferry,  at  Lewisburg;  kept  by  James  Black. 

At  November  Sessions,  the  road  from  Wolfe's  tavern  (afterwards 
Lyon's,  on  the  Cumberland  road,  leading  to  Sunbury)  to  Jenkins' 
mill,  thence  to  Derr's  town,  at  the  south  end  of  Second  street, 
along  Second  to  Market,  to  Front,  by  way  of  St.  John's,  to  the  mouth 
of  Buffalo  creek,  laid  out.  Mifflinburg,  laid  out  by  Elias  Younk- 
man, in  the  summer  of  this,  year ;  and  New  Berlin,  laid  out  by 
George  Long,  Frederick  Evans,  surveyor.  The  dates  of  the  first 
deeds  for  lots  in  these  places  I  can  find  on  record  are  30th  Novem- 

'  East  Buffalo  always  went  by  the  name  of  Hulfalo  amonjj  the  people  ;  is  so  called 
In  deeds  and  elsewhere,  except  on  the  assessment  books,  until  the  erection  of  the 
present  iJullalo. 


1792.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  275 

ber,  1792,  lot  No.  55,  in  Mifflinburg  ;  i8th  January,  1793,  George 
Long  to  Adam  Snyder,  for  No.  53,  in  New  Berlin.    . 

John  Hager  built  one  of  the  first  dams  on  Penn's  creek,  about 
one  half  mile  below  App's  present  mill,  according  to  William  Gill's 
recollection. 

Samuel  Dale,  Esquire,  moved  from  where  New  Columbia  now 
stands  to  his  place,  now  in  Kelly,  owned  by  his  grandchildren. 

Reverend  John  G.  Phreemer. 

The  Reverend  John  G.  Phreemer,  who  was  connected  with  the 
religious  movement  which  resulted,  at  length,  in  the  sect  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ,  and  sometimes  professing  to  be  a  min- 
ister of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  made  frequent  and  extensive 
tours  through  middle  Pennsylvania.  The  aged  Mrs.  Fulmer  says 
that  about  this  year,  1792,  Andrew  Straub  and  Michael  Weyland 
used  to  push  their  canoe,  containing  their  families  and  others,  across 
the  river,  where  Milton  now  is,  in  order  to  worship  under  a  tree  on 
the  opposite  side.  The  tree  stood  at  Hoffman's,  (1854,)  a  short 
distance  above  the  bridge.  On  such  occasions,  the  preaching  and 
service  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Phreemer,  and  afterwards  by  Mr. 
Phreemer  and  Deitrick  Aurand.  Mrs.  Fulmer  often  crossed  herself 
to  attend  worship  under  this  tree.  Phreemer  leute,  or  "Phreemer 
people,"  was  a  common  expression  in  Buffalo  Valley  at  an  early  day. 
He  was  very  fanatical.  A  very  pious  old  man  once  told  me  he  had 
the  people  act  the  fool  by  his  preaching.  He  is  said  once  to  have 
remarked  that  he  could  preach  the  Devil  out  of  hell.  Abraham 
Brown  said  he  saw  him  in  Ohio,  in  181 4,  where  Phreemer  was  on  a 
visit.  He  was  then  residing  in  Kentucky,  and  associate  judge  of 
the  court  there.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Harrison  county,  Indiana, 
in  1825. — HarbaugK s  Fathers. 

Selin  and  Snyder's  Mill- Dam. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Senate 
on  the  part  of  Simon  Snyder  and  Anthony  Selin's  heirs,  to  enable 
them  to  maintain  a  dam  across  Penn's  creek  of  the  height  of  two 
and  one  half  feet.     This  aroused  the  settlers  along  the  creek  and 


2j6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1792. 

produced  a  remonstrance,  read  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1 793,  which 
is  interesting  from  some  statements  it  contains.  It  states  "that  Simon 
Snyder,  and  Anthony  Selin,  before  his  death,  erected  a  dam  across 
the  main  current  of  Penn's  creek ;  that  tliere  were  no  less  tlian  ten 
mills  within  nine  miles  of  Snyder's,  some  of  which  grind  the  year 
round  unobstructed  by  ice,  and  they  subjoin  a  list  of  the  mills,  with 
their  distances  from  Snyder's :  Lauterslager's  and  Pickle's,  within 
three  miles;  Moore's,  three  miles  and  a  half;  Shock's,  four  miles; 
Rush's,  five  miles;  Hickadron's,  six;  Maclay's,  seven  miles,  Swine- 
ford's,  ditto;  Weitzel's,  eight;  and  Frederick  Stees',  nine  miles. 
This  being  the  case,  we  consider  it  highly  injurious  to  stop  the 
whole  navigation  of  Penn's  creek,  in  order  to  promote  the  indi- 
vidual interest  of  Simon  Snyder,  Esquire,"  &c.  This  petition  is 
signed  by  James  Beatty,  George  Long,  Christian  Miller,  Alexander 
Beatty,  Samuel  Templeton,  William  Fisher,  Benjamin  Griffith,  Rob- 
ert Tait,  David  Tate,  Robert  Barber,  Thomas  Barber,  John  Green, 
Paskel  Lewis,  John  McMuUen,  James  Davis,  Peter  Kester,  William 
Douglass,  Adam  Laughlin,  John  Glover,  John  Thompson,  junior 
and  senior,  David  Burd,  Alexander  Connel,  Andrew  Lowery,  Joseph 
Green,  Ludwig  Schmidt,  James  McKelvey,  Martin  Trester,  ^c. 

Notwithstanding  this  remonstrance,  the  Legislature,  April  10, 
i793j  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  dam.  [See  Dallas'  Lavvs,  vol- 
ume 3,  page  364.] 

Deaihs. 

Alexander  McGrady,  died  in  May.  His  children  were  Alexan- 
der, William,  Agnes,  wife  of  Eli  Holeman,  Jane,  wife  of  James 
Johnston. 

Samuel  Barber,  who  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Switzer  run,  was  killed 
by  the  falling  timber  of  an  old  barn  he  was  taking  down.  One  of 
his  daughters  married  William  McConnell,  the  other  Swinehart. 
His  widow,  Martha,  lived  on  the  old  place  (now  owned  by  Philip 
Seebold)  as  late  as  1812. 

Captain  Anthony  Selin,  founder  of  Selinsgrove.  He  was  com- 
missioned by  Congress,  December  10,  1776,  captain  in  Ottendorff's 
corps,  afterwards  attached  to  Armand's  legion,  and  was  still  in  service 
in  I  780,  at  Wyoming.  His  children  were  Anthony,  Charles,  and 
Agnes.     His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Governor  Snyder,  and  Selin  pur- 


1792.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  277 

chased  the  ground  on  which  the  town  now  is,  at  the  death  of  his 
brother-in-law,  John  Snyder.  Finding  Snyder's  plot  would  not  fit, 
he  re-surveyed  the  ground,  laid  it  out  anew,  and  named  it.  His 
son,  Anthony  Charles,  was  a  major  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  widow 
of  the  latter,  Mrs.  Catherine  SeHn,  died  at  the  residence  of  her  son- 
in-law,  Robert  Swineford,  in  Selinsgrove,  November  3,  1868,  aged 
eighty-two,  the  last  of  the  family  name  in  the  United  States. 

George  Hudson,  of  White  Deer. 

James  Fleming,  of  Buffalo.  He  left  his  property  to  his  wife's 
children,  Samuel,  Jane,  and  Benjamin  Rodman. 

Abel  Rees  died,  (at  Strohecker's  now.) 

Tames  Thom,  of  West  Buffalo.  His  children  were  Robert, 
Arthur,  Annie,  married  to  John  Boude,  Sarah  E.,  married  to  James 
Robb,  Elizabeth,  and  Mary. 

At  Lewisburg,  July  17,  1792,  Mathias  Joseph  Ellenkhusen.  He 
came  to  Lewisburg  in  1790,  was  the  son  of  Carl  Ellenkhusen,  who 
had  purchased  the  principal  part  of  the  town,  and  was  sent  over  by 
his  father  from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  to  look  after  his  interests,  or 
to  found  a  family  in  the  western  world.  The  principal  notice  we 
have  of  the  son  and  his  wife  are  from  the  recollections  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Brady  Piatt,  taken  down  by  O.  N.  Worden,  Esquire.  Mrs.  Ellenk- 
husen was  short  in  stature,  considerably  pock-marked,  very  lady- 
like in  manner,  spoke  the  Low  Dutch  language,  and  astonished  the 
people  by  her  elegance  and  passionate  fondness  for  skating.  She  and 
Mr.  Ellenkhusen  took  that  method  of  visiting  the  different  towns  on 
the  river.  She  married  John  Thornburg,  who  also  soon  died.  She 
afterward  married  Mr.  Moore,  and  removed  to  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 
Ellenkhusen  was  a  man  of  very  genteel  address,  and  fond  of  soci- 
ety. His  father  had  given  him  the  town  site,  and  a  good  outfit  of 
clothing  and  money,  hoping,  no  doubt,  he  would  build  up  a  fortune  ; 
but  emigration  suddenly  declined,  and  the  convivial  habits  he  had 
acquired,  probably  before  leaving  Europe,  shortened  his  days.  Per- 
sonally, he  was  much  esteemed.  He  was  quite  an  artist,  and  often 
drew  with  pencil  striking  likenesses  of  his  companions.  Sheriff  John 
Brady  was  a  joker.  He  had  found  a  cannon  near  Muddy  run,  and 
he  told  Ellenkhusen  that  he  would  present  it  to  him  if  he  would  take 
care  of  it.  On  cleaning  out  the  mud  which  covered  the  muzzle,  two 
large  black  snakes  came  out,  greatly  to  the  horror  of  Mr.  Ellenk- 


2jS  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  [1793. 

husen.  He  told  Brady  the  circumstance  afterward.  "  Why,"  said 
Brady,  "they  were  my  pets;  I  would  not  have  lost  them  for  a 
Sioo,"  and  Ellenkhusen,  no  doubt,  died  in  the  belief  that  he  had 
let  loose  some  play-fellows  of  Brady's.  Ellenkhusen  and  Thorn- 
burg  were  both  buried  beneath  what  is  now  the  vestibule  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  The  annalist  recollects  well  the  wild  cherry 
tree  that  stood  near,  and  the  brick  wall  inclosing  these  graves.  The 
tombstone  of  Ellenkhusen  was  preserved  by  the  late  James  F.  Linn, 
Esquire,  and  is  in  the  cellar  of  the  church.  Its  inscription  is  : 
"  Here  lie  the  body  of  Mathias  Joseph  Ellenkhusen,  who  departed 
this  life  July  17,  1792,  age  thirty-eight  years  and  three  months." 

"  Since  It  is  so  we  all  must  die, 
And  death  no  one  doth  spare  ; 
So  let  us  all  to  Jesus  fly, 
And  seek  for  refuge  there." 


>7 


1793 


Addition-.\l    Taxablks — Yellow    Fkvkr   in    Priladelphia — Fall  Elec- 
tions— Deaths  in  tue  Valley. 

NDREW  GREGG,  Member  of  Congress.  Josiah  Haines 
and  James  Davidson,  members  of  Assembly.  Daniel 
Montgomery,  Robert  Fleming,  and  Richard  Sherer, 
County  Commissioners.    John  Brown  was  commissioned 

a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Washington  township  March  13.    Number 

of  taxable  inhabitants  in  Northumberland  county,  three  thousand 

eight  hundred  and  seventy-eight. 

Additional  Taxables,   East  Buffalo- — Barber,  Martha  (Widow;) 

Baily,John;  Betz,  William  ;  Brown,  Christian;  Carstetter,  Martin  ; 

Covert,    Luke ;    Dale,   Samuel ;    Dunkle,   Jacob ;    Doty,   Doctor ; 

Gass,  George  ;   Gclitzler,  William ;    Getz,  Adam ;    Hayes,  John ; 


1793.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  zyg 

Hummel,  John  ;  Miller,  Christian,  (Berlintown;)  Morton,  Thomas; 
Myer,  George,  (Berlintown ;)  Ray,  John;  Reedy,  Conrad;  See- 
bold,  Christian,  grist-mill,  formerly  James  Watson's  ;  Sheckler,  Dan- 
iel ;  Sheckler,  Tobias  ;  Speddy,  Jeremiah ;  Stahl,  Philip ;  Wilson, 
Thomas. 

List  of  Residents  in  Lewisburg — Black,  James;  Caldwell,  Thomas ; 
Deering,  Francis ;  Belong,  Edward ;  Donachy,  John ;  Dunlap, 
John,  (ferry ;)  Ellenckhuysen,  Clara;  Evans,  Joseph ;  Groninger, 
Leonard  ;  Grove,  Adam  ;  Grove,  Wendel ;  Heineman,  Samuel ; 
Holdship,  George ;  Kemble,  Lawrence ;  Knox,  George ;  Links, 
George ;  Lewis,  Alexander ;  Metzgar,  Daniel ;  Poak,  William ; 
Russell,  David ;  Sherer,  Joseph  ;  Snodgrass,  David ;  Swinehart, 
Lewis ;  Thornburg,  John  ;  Troxel,  Abraham  ;  Wells,  Benjamin ; 
Wells,  Joseph ;  Yentzer,  Christian. 

Christopher  Baldy  commenced  the  tan-yard  at  Buffalo  Cross- 
Roads. 

Doctor  Charley  Beyer  practicing  medicine  in  Lewisburg. 

Still-houses — Andrew  Billmyer's,  Andrew  Blair's,  John  Beatty's, 
George  Gass',  on  John  Aurand's  place,  Peter  Leonard's,  Henry 
Pontius',  Daniel  Rees',  Levi  Vanvolsen's. 

JVew  Saw-mills — John  Hager,  Michael  Moyer. 

Additional  Residents  in  White  Deer — Adams,  James  ;  Chamber- 
lin.  Colonel  William,  of  Anvil  township,  Hunterdon  county.  New 
Jersey,  bought  the  mill  known  as  Bear's,  and  moved  into  the  Valley  ; 
Dale,  Henry  ;  Fruit,  Richard  ;  Howard,  Thomas,  one  slave  ;  How- 
ard, David  ;  Miller,  Samuel ;  Marshall,  Stephen,  lived  on  George 
Riddle's  place  or  General  Potter's  place,  late  Doctor  Ard's  ;  Rose, 
Andrew  ;  Stillwell,  Daniel ;  Williams,  William.  Stephen  Marshall 
and  James  Adams,  above,  were  grandparents  of  late  Honorable 
James  Marshall.     Philip  Heany  moved  to  Penn's  valley. 

First  Residents  in  Mifflinburg — Dreisbach,  John  ;  Holmes,  Rob- 
ert ;  Holmes,  Jonathan  ;  Longabaugh,  Henry  ;  Longabaugh,  Mi- 
chael;  Reedy,  Nicholas;  Sampsel,  Nicholas  ;  Youngman,  George  ; 
Waggoner,  Christopher. 

West  Buffalo,  State  of  Improvements,  ^c. — Thomas  Barber,  saw- 
mill ;  Jacob  Grozean,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Joseph  Green,  grist  and 
saw-mill ;  William  Rockey,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Michael  Shirtz, 
grist  and  saw-mill  at   Penn's  Valley  narrows,  finished  this  year  ; 


28o  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1793. 


Christopher  Seebold,  grist,  saw-mill,  and  still  ;  David  Smith,  grist 
and  saw-mill. 

Stills — Robert  Barber,  John  Boude,  George  Rote,  Elias  Younk- 
man.  Slaves  :  One  taxed  to  Colonel  John  Clarke,  named  Mel, 
and  one  to  David  Watson,  named  Kate. 

Additional  Residents — McCreight,  John  ;  Shriner,  Henr}'  ;  Wil- 
son, Hugh,  on  General  Irvine's  land,  late  Solomon  Kleckner's  ;  Zip- 
pernock,  Frederick. 

Fenn's  Township — App,    Mathias  ;     Aurand,    Daniel ;     Bastian, 

Daniel,  Michael,  and  George  ;   Blasser, ;  Burchfield,  Charles  ; 

Clements,  Peter  ;  Dusing,  Nicholas  and  John  ;  Gable,  Frederick  ; 
Grogg,  Peter,  saw-mill  ;  Hager,  John,  saw-mill  ;  Hershey,  John ; 
Highlands,  John  ;  Hoffer,  Elizabeth ;  Hummel,  George  Adam ; 
Jasemsky,  Reverend  Frederick  William ;  Kern,  Mathias  ;  Ken- 
dig,  Jacob  ;  Krebs,  John  ;  McKinney,  Abraham  ;  Nyhart,  David; 
Pfiel,  Henry,  saw-mill  on  Middle  creek ;  Ram,  Nicholas  ;  Rhoads, 
Francis,  junior  ;  Shatzburger,  ChristopHbr  ;  Shawber,  Christopher, 
junior;  Silverwood,  James;  Snyder,  John,  tan  -  yard ;  Snyder, 
Simon,  junior  ;  Solt,  David  ;  Strausser,  John  N.  ;  Sutherland  and 
Vanvalzah,  grist  and  saw-mill  on  Penn's  creek  ;  Trester,  Michael, 
saw-mill;  Walter,  John,  Jacob,  junior,  David,  and  Philip;  Weirick, 
William,  saw-mill;  Witmer,  Peter,  junior,  saw-mill;  Wolfe,  John 
and  George,  junior  ;  Young,  George  ;   Zering,  John. 

March  28,  petition  presented  to  the  House,  asking  Bufifalo  creek 
to  be  declared  a  public  highway  up  as  far  as  Rockey's  mills. 

In  September,  the  yellow  fever  prevailed  so  badly,  that  the  Supreme 
Court  held  no  session  in  Philadelphia.  It  broke  out  early  in  August, 
and  continued  its  ravages  until  November.  Over  four  thousand 
deaths  in  that  period,  out  of  a  population  of  fifty  thousand. 

In  October,  Thomas  Mifflin  re-elected  Governor.  Vote  in  North- 
umberland county,  Mifflin,  1443;  Muhlenberg,  5 1 4.  Thecandidates 
for  Senate  were  William  Hepburn,  Daniel  Montgomery,  Evan  Owen, 
Samuel  Wallace,  and  Bernard  Hubley,  and  William  Hepburn  was 
elected.  The  candidates  for  Assembly  were  Josiah  Haines,  James 
[Davidson,  William  Cooke,  Samuel  Dale,  John  White,  Jacob  Fulmer, 
I  and  John  Weitzel.  The  candidates  for  County  Commissioner  were 
Chistopher  Dering,  John  Buyers,  David  Ireland,  Robert  Clarke,  John 
Thornburg.  Charles  Gobin,  and  William  Bonham. 


)793.  ]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  281 

December  1 2  was  observed  in  the  churches  as  a  day  of  humiHation 
and  thanksgiving,  for  removing  the  plague  from  Philadelphia. 

In  December,  the  court-house  and  jail  at  Sunbury  were  in  such 
ruinous  condition,  that  the  president  and  associate  judges  threatened 
the  commissioners  with  prosecution,  "unless  new  buildings  are  com- 
menced next  year." 

Deaths. 

Nicholas  Smith,  White  Deer. 

George  Barnhart,  East  Buffalo. 

James  Ferguson,  Buffalo.  His  children  were  Mrs.  William  Thomp- 
son, Mrs.  Hugh  McConnel,  Mrs.  Charles  Hummel,  and  a  son,  John, 
married  to  David  Hanna's  daughter. 

In  West  Buffalo,  2  2d  April,  Daniel  Campbell,  a  soldier  during  the 
whole  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  married  Catherine  Klinesmith, 
who  was  wounded,  as  described  ante  page  190,  and  had  by  her  two 
children,  John  and  Ann.  John  died  near  Mifflinburg.  Ann  married 
Samuel  B.  Barber.  Campbell  had  received  a  land  warrant  for  one 
hundred  acres,  and,  in  order  to  locate  it,  Barber  and  wife  had  to 
make  proof  of  their  identity.  Catherine  Chambers,  the  widow,  and 
Baltzer  Klinesmith,  junior's,  depositions  were  taken  ;  on  file  at  Lew- 
isburg. 

Robert  McCorley,  of  White  Deer,  died  in  the  fall.  Left  widow, 
Anna,  and  children,  Isabella,  wife  of  William  McLaughlin  ;  Mary 
Seidel,  Robert,  James,  Roley,  (still  living,  1877,)  and  Jacob,  after- 
wards member  of  Assembly. 

Levi  Vanvolsen  lived  in  Dry  valley,  and  had  a  distillery.  A  girl, 
living  with  him,  took  one  of  his  children  into  the  still-house,  and 
placed  it  upon  a  barrel,  and  went  to  draw  some  beer.  The  child  fell 
off  into  a  vessel  of  boiling  mash,  and  was  scalded  to  death.  The  girl, 
Nancy  Grimes,  afterwards  married  Jeremiah  Speddy. 


1^94. 


First  Baptist  Settlers — Sample  of  Mr.  Morrison's  Sermons — Reverend 
George  Geistweit — Excitement  Incident  to  the  Whisky  Insurrec- 
tion— County  Politics — Election  Returns — Flavel  Roan's  Poetry. 

|HOMAS  SMITH  appointed  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
vice  William  Bradford,  resigned.  Senator,  William  Hep- 
burn. Members  of  Assembly,  Flavel  Roan,  George 
Hughes  and  Jacob  Fulmer.  Henry  Vanderslice,  Jailer. 
County  Commissioners,  Robert  Fleming,  Richard  Sherer,  and  Chris- 
topher Bering. 

On  the  8th  of  January  a  special  election  was  held  for  a  Senator, 
in  the  place  of  William  Montgomery,  resigned.  William  Hepburn 
was  elected  by  sixty-four  majority  over  Rosewell  Wells,  for  the  un- 
expired term. 

Among  the  Officers  of  West  Buffalo — John  Reznor,  Adam  Laugh- 
lin,  and  William  Moore,  assessors. 

The  additional  Taxables  were — James  Barklow,  John  Barton,  John 
Kleckner,  Solomon  Kleckner,  Benjamin  Jones,  Conrad  Coons.  The 
name  of  Jacob  Groshong  disappears  from  the  list,  and  his  mill  is 
assessed  to  Enoch  Thomas. 

Additional  Residents  of  Mifflinburg — John  Irvin,  store-keeper  ; 
Henry  Neal,  Ludwig  Gettig,  Jacob  Welker,  William  Welker,  Israel 
Ritter,  John  Earnhart. 

Of  Lewisbiirg — Alexander  McBeth,  Matthias  Shaffer,  Hugh  Mc- 
Laughlin, William  Stedman,  Esquire. 

282 


1794.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  283 

First  Residents  of  New  Berlin — Hugh  Beatty,  George  Moyer, 
Christopher  Miller,  Zeba  Smith,  Philip  Harmony,  William  Black, 
John  Mitchell,  and  Martin  Carstetter. 

Among  the  names  of  those  who  moved  into  the  Valley  this  year, 
I  note  particularly  James  McClellan,  Esquire,  and  Gabriel  Morrison, 
school-teachers,  both  from  Chester  county ;  widow  Mary  Harris, 
grandmother  of  William  Laird  Harris,  of  East  Buffalo  ;  John  Betz, 
and  Samuel  Baum. 

Improvements — The  bridge  across  the  Buffalo  creek,  at  its  mouth, 
For  this,  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  directed  an  allowance  of  ^^50, 
($133  33.)  It  was  without  a  roof.  Travel  now  deserted  the  road 
by  way  of .  the  ferry,  where  the  iron  bridge  now  (1877)  stands,  for 
the  road  on  the  river  bank.  Seventy-seven  years  elapse,  and  the 
engines  at  the  boat-yard  of  Frick,  Billmyer  &  Co.  frighten  it  back 
again.  Stedman  and  Smith  keep  store  at  Lewisburg.  The  court- 
house at  Sunbury  was  commenced.  William  Gray,  of  Sunbury, 
Alexander  Hunter,  and  John  Weitzel  were  the  trustees  for  build- 
ing it. 

O.  N.  Worden,  in  a  short  history  of  the  Baptist  churches,  pub- 
lished in  Meginness'  History  of  the  West  Branch,  quotes  from  the 
minutes  of  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association,  (1794:)  "A  letter 
was  received  and  read  from  the  church  in  Buffalo  Valley,  Northum- 
berland county,  requesting  to  be  received  into  the  association.  Post- 
poned, no  messenger  appearing  to  receive  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship." Mr.  Worden  adds  that  there  were  a  few  Baptists  and  preach- 
ing stations  in  Buffalo  Valley  after  the  Revolution,  but  there  is  no 
knowledge  of  any  Baptist  church  in  Buffalo  Valley  until  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Lewisburg  church,  in  1844. 

Colonel  James  Moore,  informs  me  that  Colonel  William  Cham- 
berlin  was  a  Baptist ;  and  after  his  arrival  in  the  Valley,  with  other 
New  Jersey  people  of  the  same  persuasion,  he  probably  made  an 
effort  to  establish  a  Baptist  church,  which  was  abandoned,  on  ac- 
count of  the  distance  the  people  lived  from  each  other. 

Additional  Taxables,  East  Buffalo — Beatty,  James;  Bickle,  Chris- 
topher ;  distillery,  erected  by  Conrad  Reedy ;  Elliot,  George  ;  Free- 
man, Doctor;  Pfreemer,  Reverend  George;  Gray,  Robert;  Harris, 
Widow  Mary;  Hoy,  John;  Lytle,  Anthony;  Lutz,  Jacob;  Mc- 
Clellan, James ;  McConnel,  William ;  McLaughlin,  John  ;  Schrack, 


284  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1794. 

Benjamin;  Smith,  William,  store-keeper,  Lewisburg;  Steel,  David; 
Stockman,  Nathan;  Thompson,  Benjamin. 

Additional  Taxables,  White  Deer — Armstrong,  Andrew ;  Awl, 
Samuel  ;  Elder,  James  and  John  ;  Fisher,  Christian  ;  Goodlander, 
Christian;  Henderson,  William  ;  Hilliard,  Guy;  Hoffman,  John  ; 
Jordan,  Widow ;  Luther,  Andrew  ;  McCorley,  Widow  ;  McGines, 
Thomas ;  Martin,  Hugh ;  Reninger,  George  ;  Riddle,  George ; 
Woods,  John. 

Perm' s — Drum,  Charles,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Forey,  Christian  ; 
Hendricks,  Samuel ;  Landis,  George  ;  Menges,  Adam,  grist  and 
saw-mill  ;  Ott,  George  ;  Page,  Abraham,  still ;  Pawling,  Joseph  ; 
Reish,  Daniel,  saw-mill ;  Ritter,  Simon,  still  ;  Stober,.  William ; 
Tryon,  Frederick,  fiddle  ;  Wetzel,  Philip. 

Beaver — Aurand,  Henry  and  George  ;  Cummings,  James  ;  Ewing, 
Thomas;  Ewing,  John;  Gill,  William;  Hendricks,  Jacob,  mill; 
Harman,  Samuel ;  Hileman,  Adam,  mill  ;  Romich,  Joseph  ;  Ship- 
ton,  Thomas  ;  Shultz,  John ;  Troxell,  John  ;  Wilson,  Moore. 

Dietrich  Aurand,  who  had  followed  milling  at  different  places 
down  the  river,  removed,  with  his  family,  into  the  Valley,  and  set- 
tled on  a  farm  on  Turtle  creek,  midway  between  its  source  and  out- 
let, about  five  miles  above  Jenkins'  mill.  The  farm  he  was  on  had 
a  reserved  water  right,  and  was  given  to  him  by  his  father,  with  the 
design  that  he  should  build  a  merchant  mill  on  it,  and  he  intended 
so  to  do  ;  but  the  Hessian  fly  having  proved  very  destructive  to  the 
wheat  crops  for  upwards  of  ten  years,  he  lost  severely  in  purchases 
of  wheat  for  the  French,  and  lost  by  bailing,  so  he  could  not  build 
the  mill,  and  had  to  sell  and  remove  to  an  adjoining  farm,  in  1801. 

Mr.  Morrison's  Sermons. 

The  late  James  McClellan,  Esquire,  left  his  father's  home,  near 
Fagg's  Manor  church,  Chester  county,  on  the  2d  of  April.  He  had 
been  in  the  habit  for  years  of  writing  down  a  skeleton  of  the  ser- 
mons of  Messrs.  Sample,  Latta,  senior  and  junior.  Smith,  senior 
and  junior,  Barr,  Dayton,  Mitchel,  Findley,  and  others,  who  filled 
the  pulpit  there.  The  last,  by  Mr.  Sample,  was  March  15.  Then 
his  manuscript  is  destroyed,  and  the  next  that  can  be  made  out  is 
1 8th  of  May,  John  xv,  from  the  i6th  to  the  end,  by  Mr.  Morrison. 


1794.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  283 

He  says  parsed  by  Mr.  Morrison,  and  nothing  but  what  is  clearly 
contained  in  the  verses  offered.  From  the  few  skeletons  preserved  by 
Esquire  McClellan,  Mr.  Morrison  seems  to  have  fallen  into  the  lazy 
habits,  still  indulged  in  by  some  of  our  present  preachers,  of  com- 
menting on  quite  a  number  of  verses,  instead  of  delivering  a  logical 
and  prepared  discourse  on  one  theme.  For  instance,  his  fast-day 
sermon,  June  13,  on  Matthew  v,  ist  to  the  9th,  is  stenographed 
thus:  "This  is  Christ's  sermon  on  the  mount.  He  went  up  on  a 
mountain,  some  of  the  commentators  say,  because  the  law  was  given 
on  a  mountain.  However,  he  made  choice  of  this  place  to  deliver 
his  sermon.  Verse  2  :  He  opened  his  mouth,  expressive  of  deliber- 
ation, judgment,  and  authority,  and  taught.  Verse  3  :  This  cannot 
mean  poor  in  possession,  as  some  allow,  as  some  are  poor  and 
wicked;  but  it  means  those  children  of  God  who  are  broken  under 
a  sense  of  guilt,  whatever  their  external  circumstances  may  be,  but 
frequently  it  is  that  of  middle  circumstances.  Verse  5  :  The  '  meek ' 
does  not  mean  the  external,  affected  polish  which  prevails;  it  means 
a  christian  behavior,  whereby  he  serves  God  as  becometh  Christians," 
&c.,  to  the  end.  Perhaps  we  do  injustice  to  Mr.  Morrison's  mem- 
ory by  putting  on  record  this  •'  Chatband"  style  of  preaching,  but 
it  is  the  only  memorial,  perhaps,  in  existence  to  throw  any  light  on 
his  pulpit  services,  not  abilities,  may  be,  as  he  could  make  a  flaming 
political  harangue. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  German  Reformed  Synod,  held  at  Read- 
ing, in  May,  the  Reverend  George  Geistweit  was  licensed  as  a 
minister,  and  a  call  immediately  presented  him  from  the  Shamokin 
churches.  The  congregations  in  all  these  regions  had  been  vacant 
since  the  Reverend  J.  Rahauser  left  them,  in  1792.  Mr.  Geistweit 
preached  statedly  at  Selinsgrove,  Sunbury,  &c.,  and  occasionally  in 
Buffalo  Valley,  in  the  newly-built  town  of  New  Berlin,  at  Penn's 
creek,  &c.  He  labored  here  until  the  year  1804,  when  he  accepted 
a  call  to  York,  Pennsylvania.  He  died  there,  November  11,  1S31, 
aged  seventy  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  Reformed  grave-yard 
there.  There  are  still  (1857)  some  people  living  in  the  Valley  who 
were  confirmed  and  married  by  him,  and  speak  of  him  with  great 
affection  and  gratitude. — Doctor  Harbaugh. 

Mr.  Geistweit  bears  the  enviable  reputation  of  having  been  one 
of  the  kindest  and  most  benevolent  of  men.     It  is  reported  of  him 


28b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1794. 

that,  on  one  occasion,  he  even  took  the  hat  from  his  own  head  and 
gave  it  to  a  poor  wanderer,  whose  destitute  condition  appealed  to 
his  charity. — Reverend  D.  Y.  Heisler,  Fathers  German  Reformed 
Church,  volume  3,  page  77. 

The  Whisky  Insurrection. 

September  30.  The  summer  and  fall  of  this  year  are  noted  for 
the  excitement  through  the  State,  culminating  in  the  whisky  insur- 
rection. Some  of  the  whisky  boys  determined  to  erect  a  liberty 
pole,  at  Northumberland;  Judge  William  Wilson,  of  Chillisquaque, 
and  Judge  Macpherson,  of  Dry  Valley,  hearing  of  it,  determined  to 
prevent  it.  They  called  upon  Daniel  Montgomery,  also  a  justice, 
to  assist  them.  He  told  them  he  would  pull  at  the  rope  if  the 
people  required  it.  He,  however,  went  with  them,  but  rendered 
them  no  assistance  in  suppressing  the  disturbance.  A  fight  took 
place ;  Judge  Wilson  read  the  riot  act,  as  he  called  it,  to  disperse 
the  crowd,  but  they  paid  no  attention  to  it.  One  of  them  presented 
his  musket  at  the  judge,  but  the  old  revolutionary  captain  cocked 
his  pistol  and  made  him  put  down  the  musket,  under  the  penalty  of 
having  his  brains  blown  out.  They  arrested  the  judge.  He  would 
not  give  bail,  and  they  were  afraid  to  put  him  to  jail.  In  the  melee, 
Jasper  Ewing,  the  prothonotary,  drew  his  pistol  and  snapped  it  at 
William  Cooke.  See  the  case  reported  in  i  Yeates,  419.  Kennedy's 
Gazette,  of  3d  December,  has  General  Henry  Lee's  proclamation 
to  the  people  of  western  Pennsylvania,  dated  at  camp,  at  Parkinson's 
ferry,  November  8,  in  command  of  the  troops  of  New  Jersey,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia.  Also,  an  advertisement  of  Doctor  Priestly's 
works,  he  was  then  publishing. 

Indictments  were  found  versus  Robert  Irwin,  Daniel  Montgomery, 
John  Frick,  William  Bonham,  John  Mackey,  senior,  and  Samuel 
McKee.  Mr.  Meginness  says  they  were  tried  in  Philadelphia,  con- 
victed, and  sentenced,  and  that  General  Washington  pardoned  them 
at  the  end  of  twenty  days.  His  account  of  the  riot  is,  that  the 
liberty  pole  was  erected  at  the  corner  of  Second  and  Market  streets, 
in  Northumberland.  The  arsenal  was  under  care  of  Robert  Irwin, 
(grandfather  of  the  Nesbit  brothers  of  Lewisburg.)  The  rioters 
took  possession  of  the  arsenal,  and  distributed  the  arms.  The  pole 
was  driven  full  of  nails,  and  guarded  day  and  night.     John  Brady, 


1794.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  287 

junior,  was  deputy  marshal,  and  a  very  determined  man.  A  col- 
lision was  imminent,  when  Captain  Robert  Cooke's  company,  from 
Lancaster,  arrived,  and  dispersed  the  rioters  at  the  point  of  the  bay- 
onet. An  axe  was  called  for  to  cut  the  pole  down.  Mrs.  Bernard 
Hubley  came  running  with  one,  her  sister,  Mrs.  Jacob  Welker,  met 
her  and  tried  to  take  the  axe.  Mrs.  Hubley  got  past  her,  and  the 
pole  came  down. 

This  company  passed  through  Buffalo  Valley.  At  Andrew  Bill- 
myer's,  a  little  beyond  Lewisburg,  a  pole  had  been  erected,  but  the 
report  of  the  advancing  troops  got  there  before  they  did,  and  the  pole 
was  cut  down  and  hid.  The  soldiers  could  not  find  it,  and  took  their 
revenge  in  drinking  up  all  the  whisky,  eating  everything  in  the 
house,  leaving  word  that  Uncle  Sam  would  pay  the  bill. 

Politics. 

By  an  act  of  the  2d  of  April,  Dauphin  and  Northumberland  con- 
stituted our  congressional  district,  and  by  the  act  of  the  2 2d  of 
April,  Northumberland,  Luzerne  and  Mifflin  our  senatorial  district, 
electing  two  members  for  the  term  of  four  years,  and  Northumber- 
land became  entitled  to  three  members  of  Assembly. 

Slates  were  at  that  early  day  made  at  Philadelphia,  but  usually 
smashed  by  the  people.  George  Green  writes  from  Philadelphia  to 
Robert  Irwin,  September  24: 

"Son  Robert  :  I  am  at  loss  to  know  whether  the  county  of  North- 
umberland or  the  county  of  Mifflin,  as  I  understand  they  are  in 
one  district,  is  entitled  to  one  or  two  Senators.  If  two,  Mr.  Mar- 
tin, I  hear,  is  to  run  in  your  county,  and  there  is  a  certain  Mr.  John 
Culbertson  mentioned  in  the  other  county.  I  look  upon  him  as  a 
good  man,  and  if  there  are  two  for  the  district,  I  could  wish  the  two 
above-mentioned  to  run;  if  but  one  for  the  district,  you  may  act  as 
you  think  proper.  I  think  they  are  both  good  men.  There  are 
great  preparations  being  made  here  for  an  army- to  go  to  the  Fort 
Pitt  country  to  subdue  the  rioters,  as  they  are  called.  It  appears  to 
me  to  be  a  serious  affair.     How  it  will  turn  out  only  time  can  tell." 

The  following  schedule  of  election  returns  is  printed  in  full,  so  as 
to  show  the  strength  of  party  in  each  election  district  in  the  county. 
I  found  it  among  Flavel  Roan's  papers,  kindly  loaned  me  by  his 
nephew,  Flavel  R.  Clingan,  of  Kelly  township. 


288 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1794. 


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1794.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY^  28g 

Samuel  Maclay's  large  majority  will  be  remarked;  also,  the  still 
greater  popularity  of  Flavel  Roan,  as  he  has  a  majority  in  every  elec- 
tion district.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  Federalists  ran  three  revolu- 
tionary officers.  Surgeon  Davidson,  Colonel  Cooke,  and  Major  Abra- 
ham Scott,  for  Assembly,  yet  they  were  largely  defeated  by  civilians; 
Republicans,  as  the  opposition  called  themselves.  This  must  be 
attributed  to  the  personal  influence  of  William  and  Samuel  Maclay, 
and  the  excitement  caused  by  the  whisky  tax.  William  Maclay,  I 
infer  from  his  private  journal,  differed  with  General  Washington 
very  early  in  the  first  session  of  Congress.  The  Maclays,  though 
aristocratically  descended,  their  ancestor  being  Baron  Fingal,  were 
intensely  democratic  in  sentiment.  We  notice  VViliiam  Maclay 
grumbles  at  the  state  or  ceremony  of  Washington's  intercourse  with 
C'ongress  and  the  public;  his  objections  to  the  President's  pres- 
ence while  business  was  transacted,  and  his  boldness  in  speaking 
against  the  President's  measures  in  open  Senate,  and  the  President 
a  listener.  These  are  matters  more  proper  for  a  biograpliy  of  Mr. 
Maclay;  but  their  reflex  influence  upon  Northumberland  county 
elections  must  be  noted  in  these  Annals. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Robert  Irwin  has  the  highest  vote  for 
sheriff.  Nevertheless,  Governor  Mifflin  appoints  the  next  highest, 
John  Brady,  a  Federalist.  The  law  then  gave  the  Governor  the 
privilege  of  appointing  from  tlie  two  highest  candidates.  Henry 
McAdam  was  elected  coroner  over  Henry  Lebo,  Paul  Baldy,  John 
Gray,  &c.  Henry  Vanderslice  was  elected  county  commissioner 
over  Charles  Gobin,  Thomas  Forster,  &c.  Joseph  Barnett,  Hugh 
Beatty,  and  Robert  Clarke,  each,  had  quite  a  number  of  votes  for 
Assembly. 

In  the  case  of  the  sheriff,  many  depositions  were  filed  by  the 
friends  of  Irwm  and  those  of  Brady.  In  one  by  John  McGrath,  he 
says,  having  a  store  to  build  for  Mr.  Irwin,  on  the  29th  of  Septem- 
ber, when  the  tree  was  hauled  in  to  make  the  "  liberty  pole,"  he 
watched  the  pole  during  the  night,  using  the  unfinished  store-room 
for  that  purpose,  without  Mr.  Irwin's  knowledge  or  concurrence ; 
that  the  night  of  the  watch  Mrs.  Brady  gave  him  a  quart  of  whisky 
to  treat  the  watch  with  ;  that  Lawrence  Campbell  brought  a  quart  of 
brandy,  and  said  that  Mr.  Brady  had  sent  it ;  that  John  Brady  said 
his  brother  had  no  more  sense  than  Jimmy  Logan,  and  while  his 
19 


2()0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1794. 

brother  was  cutting  the  pole  down  here,  he  was  helping  to  raise  one 
in  Milton,  and  that  if  they  would  raise  another,  he  would  put  a  silk 
flag  on  it  at  his  own  expense. 

John  Tietsworth  swore,  a  voter  in  Buffalo  told  him  that  when  he 
proposed  the  name  of  Brady  for  sheriff,  in  Buffalo,  "  he  liked  to  have 
got  his  head  broke  for  doing  it,"  &c. 

A  memorial  to  the  Governor,  signed  by  William  Wilson,  William 
H(;pburn,  Jasper  Ewing,  William  Gray,  Jonathan  Walker,  Thad- 
deus  Hamilton,  Daniel  vSmith,  John  Kidd,  Bernard  Hubley,  Joseph 
J.  Wallis,  and  B.  W.  Ball,  sets  forth,  "that  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  insurrection  to  the  westward,  this  county  has  furnished 
daily  proofs  of  a  disposition  inimical  to  the  cause  of  Government, 
by  erecting  what  they  call  liberty  poles.  One  attempt  has  been 
made  by  the  friends  of  Government  to  cut  down  these  poles,  which 
was  attended  with  imminent  danger  to  the  lives  of  some  of  our  best 
citizens.  The  arrival  of  our  friends  from  Luzerne  gave  great  ac- 
tivity to  the  spirit  of  the  county.  They  were  a  standard  about 
which  the  friends  of  order  might  rally,  and  an  object  of  dread  and 
hatred  to  the  party  in  opposition.  After  they  had  been  here  a  few 
days,  General  Wilson  and  Judge  Macpherson  issued  warrants  against 
a  number  of  persons  who  had  been  most  active  in  opposition.  The 
sheriff  served  them,  and  reported  that  they  willingly  submitted  and 
entered  into  recognizances.  But  the  moment  they  had  done  so, 
we  are  informed,  that  they  set  out  through  the  country  with  inflam- 
matory falsehoods  against  some  of  our  good  citizens  who  were  can- 
didates. Of  John  Brady,  a  candidate  for  the  sheriff's  office,  and  a 
sworn  friend  of  Government,  they  reported  that  he  had  rode  his 
horse  over  a  pole  before  it  was  raised,  and  that  he  or  his  brother 
had  assisted  in  cutting  down  a  pole,  and  if  he  was  elected,  he  would 
summon  juries  friendly  to  the  Government,  and  that  by  it  they 
would  all  be  hung." 

They  allege  that,  but  for  these  reports,  Brady  would  have  been 
elected.  They  further  represent  John  Brady  to  be  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  Government ;  that  his  father  and  brother  were  killed  by  the 
Indians,  and  that  he  had  two  brothers  in  the  United  States  service, 
and  allege  that  Irwin  sympathized  with  the  whisky  insurrectionists, 
and  ask  Governor  Mifflin  to  appoint  Brady,  although  they  admit  he 
was  two  hundred  votes  behind  Irwin. 


1794.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  2gi 

David  Hammond  testified  that  the  report  among  the  people  was, 
that  WilHam  Perry  Brady  had  cut  down  the  Hberty  or  whisky  pole 
at  Northumberland,  and  that  they  would  not  vote  for  John  Brady 
on  that  account,  "  as  they  believed  he  was  against  the  pole.  " 

John  Hayes  (Esquire)  testified  "that  he  saw  at  Derrstown,  in  Buf- 
falo township,  Robert  Irwin,  as  active  a  person  as  there  was  there  in 
helping  to  put  up  a  pole  that  was  erected  there,  with  a  large  flag  with 
a  motto  thereon,  '  Liberty ;'  that  the  people  said  Brady  was  for  the 
Government,  and,  if  he  was  elected,  he  would  do  everything  in  his 
power  against  them,  as  they  had  been  active  in  raising  the  pole." 

Samuel  Maus  testified  ' '  that  he  saw  John  Brady  assist  raising  the 
first  pole  at  Northumberland,  and  had  heard  him  say  that  he  had 
helped  raise  a  pole  in  Buffalo,  and  another  in  Milton,  and  that  he 
would  purchase  a  very  genteel  large  flag  for  the  next  pole  at  North- 
umberland, and  that  his  brother  was  a  damned  rascal  for  cutting 
down  the  first  pole  ;  that  John  Brady's  girl  brought  the  brandy  to 
the  people  who  were  watching  the  tree  for  the  pole  the  night  before 
it  was  raised,  and  the  girl  told  the  people  the  brandy  came  from  Mr, 
Brady,  upon  which  the  people  cried  out  huzzah  !  for  John  Brady's 
brandy  !  " 

William  Spring  certified  that  some  time  in  October  last  John  Mason, 
of  Northumberland  town,  came  to  James  Tawar  &  Co.'s  store  and 
ordered  a  sufficient  piece  of  red  Persian  to  make  colors  for  the  lib- 
erty pole,  and  directed  it  to  be  charged  to  John  Brady's  account,  or 
his  own,  whichever  I  thought  proper. 

Henry  Lebo  testified  that  when  the  first  pole  was  set  up  in  North- 
umberland, the  people,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Eddy,  formed  a  circle,  and 
sat  down,  said  Eddy  in  the  chair  ;  that  Robert  Brady  came  into  the 
ring  with  two  case  bottles  of  whisky,  and  called  upon  him  (Lebo) 
to  tell  the  people  this  was  John  Brady's  treat,  John  Brady  being  in 
the  company ;  that  this  deponent,  thinking  his  neighbor  Irwin 
should  not  be  behind  in  treating  the  people,  went  to  Irwin's  store, 
and  not  finding  him  at  home,  asked  the  clerk  for  a  half  gallon  of 
whisky,  who  refused.  Mrs.  Irwin  was  then  applied  to,  and  she 
refused;  that  he  then  got  a  half  gallon  on  his  own  account,  took  it 
out  to  the  people,  who,  thereupon,  drank  his  health. 

James  Faulkner  testified  he  heard  Irwin  say  that  a  friend  of  Brady's 
told  him,  "that  at  a  collection  of  a  number  of  people  in  Younk- 


2g2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1794. 

manstown,  (a  village  in  Buffalo,)  at  the  raising  of  a  liberty  pole, 
John  Brady  came  along  in  his  route  electioneering,  at  which  place 
he  expressed  himself  too  freely  against  such  unlawful  measures, 
which  exasperated  the  people  so  much,  that  it  had  completely  ruined 
his  election  in  the  Buffalo  district." 

Jonathan  Walker  (afterwards  Judge  Walker,)  testifies  "  that  John 
Brady  always  was,  and  still  is,  opposed  to  liberty  poles  ;  that  Wil- 
liam Bonham,  John  Mackey,  and  Daniel  Montgomery,  were  the  prin- 
cipal persons  concerned  in  raising  the  pole  at  Northumberland  ; 
that  Daniel  Montgomery  told  him  that  he  was  determined  to  run 
Irwin  in  his  own  defense,  as  a  number  of  them  might  be  indicted 
for  erecting  liberty  poles,  and  they  had  no  favors  to  expect  from  John 
Brady  if  he  should  succeed  \  that  Bonham  said  at  first  that  he  would 
give  all  his  interest  to,  and  make  all  the  Methodists  in  the  county 
vote  for,  John  Brady,  but  he  had  changed  around  to  Irwin,  and  run 
a  dead  ticket  for  him,"  &c.,  &c. 

Governor  Mifflin,  in  a  note  to  James  Trimble,  Deputy  Secretary, 
says  that  he  has  ' '  shown  the  depositions  produced  by  the  friends  of 
the  Government  in  favor  of  Brady,  the  lowest  on  the  return,  to  Mr. 
IngersoU,  (the  Attorney  General,)  and  he  conceives  it  proper  that 
Brady  should  be  commissioned.  Therefore,  let  the  commission  forth- 
with issue." 

A  Specimen  of  F lave  I  Roan's  Poetry,  taken  from  Kennedy's  Gazette 

of  May  14,  1794. 
Mr.  Kennedy, 

Please  to  insert  the  following  advertisement,  and  oblige  yours, 
^c,  Flavel  Roan. 

I  am  an  old  man,  my  case  is  quite  common, 
I  want  me  a  wife,  a  likely  young  woman. 
I  late  had  an  old  one,  but  three  years  ago, 
She  sickened  and  died,  and  left  me  in  woe  ; 

I  whin'd  J.  B.  preached  a  sermon  when  she  was  buried, 
Wore  my  old  wig  a  fort'night,  then  long'd  to  be  married. 

If  any  one  knows  where  a  wife's  to  be  had. 
Such  as  seventy  wishes  when  reason  is  dead  : 
A  girl  that  will  warm  my  old  bones  in  the  winter. 
Let  them  leave  the  intelligence  with  Mr.  Printer. 


1794. 1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  zgj 

Deaths. 

Thomas  Taggert,  at  Northumberland.  Children:  Robert,  David, 
William,  James  ;  Elizabeth,  married  to  William  Bonham  ;  Catherine, 
to  John  Painter ;  Christina,  to  James  Semple ;  Mary,  to  Benjamin 
Patterson. 

Lambert  Vandyke,  of  White  Deer.  Children:  John,  Henry,  James,  ;'  — Vc-'-"p 
William,  Archibald,  and  Alexander.     Lambert's  widow  afterward  ,1 
married  Benjamin  Thompson. 

George  Smith,  ('of  Hartley  now.) 

John  Fisher,  of  White  Deer.  Children  :  Henry,  Paul,  John,  Mi- 
chael, George,  and  three  daughters.  One  married  Thomas  Perry, 
another  Jacob  Wertz,  and  another  to  Philip  Haines.  John  Fisher 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  Took  up  the  land  in  his  own  name,  on 
part  of  which  West  Milton  now  stands.  He  is  buried  in  the  corner 
of  the  field  above  John  Datisman,  Esquire's,  store,  where  the  Valley 
road  strikes  the  river.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Paul  and  Daniel, 
of  Gregg  township. 

Casper  Bower,  (East  Buffalo.)  Children:  Henry,  Margaret  Hol- 
ler, Susanna  Dressier,  Catherine  Saunders,  Maria  Flickinger,  Barbara 
Smith,  and  Maria,  unmarried  then. 

Andrew  Fox,  (of  Hartley  now.) 

Mathias  Barnhart,  East  Buffalo.  Children  :  William  H.,  Matthias, 
Lorentz,  Magdelena,  married  to  Peter  Getz. 

Edward  Tate,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  His  children  were, 
Edward,  who  moved  to  Rock  Forge,  Centre  county,  around  which 
his  descendants  reside,  and  William,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Hugh  Beatty,  and  whose  children  live  in  and  near  Bellefonte. 

Kennedy's  Gazette  says  that  "Colonel  Matthew  Smith  died  at 
Milton,  aged  fifty-four.  He  was  captain  of  the  rifle  company  that 
went  through  the  wilderness  with  Arnold  to  Quebec.  A  company  of 
light  infantry,  under  Major  Piatt  and  Captain  James  Boyd,  marched 
about  six  miles  to  Warrior  Run  burying-ground.  Many  tears  were 
shed  over  the  old  patriot's  grave,  and,  after  his  remains  were  depos- 
ited, three  volleys  were  fired  over  his  grave." 

He  was  prothonotary  in  1 780.  His  son,  Wilson  Smith,  was  sheriff 
of  Erie  county  in  1804,  and  Senator  from  that  district  in  181 2. 
Quartermaster  General  under  Governor  Snyder,  in  181 4.  His  grand- 
son, Matthew  Smith,  still  resides  in  Waterford,  in  that  county. 


1^95- 


Henry  Spyker's  House — Politics— Tay's  Treaty — George  Kester  and 
Anna  M.  Smith's  Bequests  for  Schools — Death  of  William  Tuvine, 
and  Notice  of  his  Family. 

EMBERS  of  Congress,  Samuel  Maclay,  and  Andrew 
Gregg.  Senator,  Samuel  Dale,  elected  vice  William  Hep- 
burn, who  resigned  on  the  20th  of  April.  Members  of 
the  House,  Flavel  Roan,  Hugh  White,  and  Robert  Mar- 
tin. County  Commissioners,  Richard  Sherer,  C.  Dering,  and  Henry 
Vanderslice.     John  Brady,  Sheriff. 

In  East  Buffalo,  the  additional  Taxabks  are — Joseph  Phares,  John 
Hubler,  Jacob  Lutz,  Job  Thomas,  Doctor  Rosewell  Doty. 

John  Pollock  opened  a  store  in  Mr.  Lewis'  house,  in  Lewisburg. 
On  5th  August,  Henry  Spyker  commenced  building  the  first  brick 
house  ever  erected  in  Lewisburg,  (still  standing,)  on  the  corner  of 
Front  and  St.  Catherine  streets,  and  owned  by  James  S.  Marsh. 
John  Meffert,  of  Tulpehocken,  was  the  contractor.  Most  of  the  brick 
were  brought  from  some  point  down  the  river,  and  a  few  made  on 
Thomas  Wilson's  place,  now  a  part  of  George  Wolfe's,  near  the  fair 
ground.     Abraham  Troxell  did  the  hauling. 

In  White  Deer :  Archibald  Hawthorne  appears  as  a  taxable. 
In  West  Buffalo :   John  Wintelbleck,  John  Wilt,  Joseph  Wilt, 
Adam  Armor,  and  John  Collins. 

In  Penn's  :  George  Benfer,  Michael  Beaver,  Peter  Hackenberg,j 
Samuel  McClintock,  Philip  Yocum,  (Big)  John  Kerstetter. 

2g4 


1795.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  295 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  24th  and  25  th  of  January,  fell  the  deepest 
snow  had  for  many  winters — two  feet  on  the  level.  From  April  loth 
to  the  19th,  the  weather  was  excessively  warm,  like  in  the  middle  of 
summer. 

Thursday,  19th  February,  was  observed  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving 
and  prayer,  upon  a  proclamation  of  President  Washington.  "  Good 
George,  take  care  you  do  not  fall,"  writes  Republican  Henry  Spyker, 
in  his  diary. 

To  April  Session,  1795,  Hugh  Wilson,  Henry  Dreisbach,  Leffard 
Haughawaut,  William  P.  Maclay,  C.  Baldy,  and  John  Thompson, 
junior,  reported  that  they  had  laid  out  a  public  road  from  Dreisbach's 
church  to  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads. 

Politics. 

Jay's  treaty  with  Great  Britain  was  signed  on  the  19th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1794.  General  Washington  received  a  copy  on  the  7th  of 
March,  of  the  present  year.  An  extra  session  of  the  Senate  was  called 
on  the  6th  of  June,  and  it  advised  the  President  to  ratify  it,  except 
one  article  in  relation  to  the  West  India  trade.  While  Washington 
was  waiting,  a  little,  the  progress  of  events,  one  of  the  Virginia 
Senators,  S.  T.  Mason,  in  violation  of  the  obligation  of  secrecy, 
sent  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Aurora,  a  violent,  partisan  Democratic  (or 
Republican,  as  was  the  party  name  then)  paper,  in  Philadelphia.  It 
was  spread  before  the  people  without  any  of  the  accompanying 
documents  or  letters,  necessary  for  a  fair  appreciation  of  it  by  the 
people.  The  treaty  was  the  best  that  could  be  obtained  at  the  time, 
and  public  policy  recommended  its  ratification.  Nevertheless,  the 
warm  feeling  of  our  people  towards  the  French  gave  the  opportunity 
to  the  politicians  to  raise  a  tremendous  storm.  Meetings  were  held 
all  over  the  country,  and  the  treaty  denounced  violently.  Jay  was 
burned  in  effigy,  the  British  minister  insulted,  and  Hamilton  stoned 
at  a  public  meeting.  We  can  give  no  idea  of  the  bitterness  engen- 
dered, except  by  large  quotations  from  speeches  and  correspondence 
of  the  day.  The  clergy,  at  least  many  of  the  prominent  ones,  took 
part,  and  some  of  their  vituperations  appal  us.  The  upshot  of  the 
matter  was,  General  Washington  stood  firm,  and  the  treaty  became 


2()6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1795. 


a  law.     Nevertheless,  the  party  feeling  it  elicited  increased  until  it 
ended  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Federal  party,  in  the  fall  of  1800. 

William  and  Samuel  Maclay  were  the  influential  men  of  the  middle 
and  western  portions  of  Pennsylvania,  and  were  decided  Republi- 
cans. Buffalo  Valley,  ever  since  a  hot  place  about  election  times, 
was  doubly  hot  at  this  time.  Samuel  Maclay's  influence,  from  his 
good  character  and  ability,  was  almost  unbounded.  Nevertheless, 
Mr.  Morrison  led  a  determined  few  in  opposition  to  the  dominant 
Republicans.  The  result  was,  pew  rates  ceased  in  the  Buff"alo  church, 
and  we  only  find  the  names  of  William  Sherer,  John  Allen,  Joseph 
Allen,  John  Reznor,  George  Knox,  Walter  Clark,  Joseph  Patterson, 
William  Gray,  and  Thomas  Howard,  marked  as  paying  up  their  sti- 
pends. In  1797,  the  foregoing  and  William  Wilson  and  William 
Irwin,  Esquire,  only  are  marked  as  having  paid  up.  In  1798,  occur 
the  same  names  only  paying  up.  In  1799  and  1800,  the  same 
names.  In  1801,  only  the  names  of  George  Knox,  William  Wilson, 
William  Gray,  Esquire,  and  Walter  Clark. 

Mr.  Morrison  commenced  preaching  at  Mr.  Maclay  from  the  pul- 
pit, and  Mr.  Maclay  refused  to  go  any  longer,  and,  of  course,  took 
the  larger  body  of  the  congregation  with  him.  Mr.  Morrison  alleged 
that  the  majority  had  conspired  to  shut  him  out  of  the  church,  and 
he  and  his  party  went  so  far  as  to  shut  themselves  out  of  the  church, 
one  day,  and  then  went  over  to  the  school-house  to  hear  Mr.  Mor- 
rison preach,  and  endeavored  to  put  the  odium  of  it  upon  the  ma- 
jority. 

Marriage. 

December,  16,  Tobias  Sheckler  to  Catherine,  daughter  of  George 
Frederick. 

Deaths. 

John  Thornburg,  of  Lewisburg.  Charles  Pollock,  White  Deer. 
Henry  Bolender.  Theobald  Miller,  of  Penn's.  His  widow  married 
George  May,  of  Buffalo.  His  children  :  Benjamin,  who  went  down 
the  Ohio,  and  was  killed  by  the  Indians;  Valentine,  father  of  Car- 
penter John,  of  Lewisburg;  Margaret,  married  to  John  Metzgar; 
Catherine,  to  John  Adam;  Mary,  to  Philip  Moore,  of  Freeburg; 
Valentine,  married  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Evans,  of  Lewisburg,  served 
in  the  war  of  1812  ;  father  of  Reverend  Theobald,  of  Ohio. 


1795.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  2gy 

George  Kester,  (Hartley  now.)  In  his  will  he  provided  for  the 
erection  of  a  school-house  on  his  place,  which  was  to  be  furnished 
with  a  good  stove,  at  the  expense  of  his  estate.  This  is  still  known 
as  the  Kester  school-house.  A  burying-ground  is  attached,  in  which 
are  interred  many  of  the  old  settlers.  Kester's  children  were  Peter, 
Elizabeth,  Christina,  and  Henry. 

Anna  M.  Smith,  of  East  Buffalo.  She  left  in  her  will  ^30,  to 
erect  a  school-house  for  poor  children  on  Turtle  creek. 

William  Irvine,  died  November  18.  His  place  was  the  "Thomas 
Wilson"  warrantee  tract,  about  a  mile  above  Rengler's  mill,  adjoining 
then  John  Beatty,  Wendell  Baker,  James  Magee  and  John  Sierer,  two 
hundred  and  sixty  acres ;  ninety  cleared.  It  was  sold  by  his  execu- 
tors, on  4th  May,  1798,  to  Peter  Dunkle,  for  $1,500. 

William  Irvine  came  into  the  Valley,  probably  in  the  year  1774, 
when  he  patented  the  tract.  He  is  marked  on  the  assessments 
William  Irvine,  (Irish,)  to  distinguish  him  from  William  Irwin,  Es- 
quire, who  is  marked  as  "late  of  Carlisle."  His  wife  was  an  Arm- 
strong, connected  with  the  family  at  Carlisle,  and  his  eldest  daughter, 
Catherine,  (afterwards  Catherine  Wilson,)  was  born  November  16, 
1758.  He  served  during  the  French-Indian  war,  1754-1763.  I 
have  his  powder  horn,  on  which  are  etched  the  stations  between 
Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh,  to  Fort  Stanwix  and  Crown  Point,  the 
plan  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  English  insignia  ''  Honi  soit  que  mal,'" 
Indians  with  scalping  knives,  &c.  With  the  runaway  of  1779,  he 
removed  his  family  to  Cumberland  county.  The  spring  served  as 
a  hiding  place  for  many  things,  and  a  griddle,  now  in  possession  of 
J.  M.  Linn,  still  shows  some  rust-holes  gotten  there.  His  wife  died 
near  Carlisle,  and  he  returned  to  his  place  in  the  Valley,  accom- 
panied by  his  daughter  Catherine,  and  from  her  have  come  down 
many  incidents  of  the  hardships  endured  by  the  early  settlers. 

When  alarmed  by  incursions  of  the  Indians,  they  rendezvoused  at 
McCandlish's,  (now  John  Lesher's.)  Once,  when  on  a  flight,  the 
quick  ear  of  the  father  caught  the  report  of  a  bush  cracking  behind 
them.  He  pushed  tier  behind  a  tree  and  cocked  his  rifle,  but  it  was 
only  a  deer  running  by.  Once  they  were  pursued  so  close  they  had 
to  leave  a  cow  with  a  calf  only  a  itw  days  old.  He  pushed  down 
the  fence  so  that  she  could  get  into  the  meadow,  and  they  then  fled 
for  their  lives. 


zgS  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  1 1796. 


^• 


Later  in  life,  he  married  Jane  Forster,  daughter  of  John.  She  died 
in  1824,  aged  eighty-four,  and  is  buried  in  the  Lewis  grave-yard. 
His  children  were,  i,  Catherine,  married  to  Hugh  Wilson,  father 
of  Doctor  W.  L  Wilson,  still  living  ;  Francis,  who  died  February 
15,  1873,  ^•'S-  James  F.  Linn,  Mrs.  William  Stedman  ;  2,  Elizabeth, 
married  to  William  Love  ;  3,  Nancy,  to  William  Miltbrd.  (The  lat- 
ter took  a  boat  load  of  produce  to  New  Orleans,  in  1809,  and  was 
never  heard  of  afterward.)  His  wife  survived  him  forty-one  years  ; 
4,  Mary,  married  to  James  McClellan,  Esquire;  5,  Sarah,  married 
to  Walter  Charters.  William  Irvine's  father's  name  was  Andrew,  of 
the  county  of  Fermanagh,  Ireland ;  and  John,  Matthew,  and  Thomas, 
of  Philadelphia,  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives 
in  connection  with  the  purchase  of  ships  for  the  navy  and  powder  for 
the  continental  army,  were  William's  cousins,  as  were  also  General 
William  Irvine,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  Matthew,  the  celebrated 
surgeon  of  Lee's  legion,  and  Andrew,  who  survived  so  many  wounds 
received  at  Paoli. 


^96. 


Bisnop  Newcomer  Visits  the  Valley — List  of  Inhabitants  of  East 
Buffalo.  Lewisburg,  New  Berlin,  West  Buffalo,  White  Deer,  and 
Mahantango. 

ENATOR,  Samuel  Dale,  re-elected  in  October.  Mem- 
bers of  Assembly,  H^gh  White,  John  White,  and  Thomas 
Grant.  William  Cooke,  commissioned  Associate  Judge 
January  19th,  vice  Samuel  Maclay,  resigned  December 
7,  1795.  County  Commissioners,  Joseph  Deripg,  Henry  Vander- 
slice,  and  Nathan  Stockman.  Coroner,  William  McAdam.  Briga- 
dier General,  William  Wilson.  Brigade  Inspector,  Bernard  Hubley. 
Peter  Hosterman,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  commissioned  March  14; 
George  Youngman,  March  17  ;  Frederick  Stees,  June  9. 


1796.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  I'ALLEY.  2gg 

January  i8,  George  Clark,  Lazarus  Finney,  and  Roan  McClure 
made  a  valuation  of  the  real  estate,  &c.,  of  White  Deer  township. 
Real  estate,  $37,445;  personal,  $4,-438  ;  buildings,  $6,448. 

March  18,  Conrad  Weiser  moved  from  Tulpehocken  to  his  place 
on  the  Isle  of  Que. — Spyker' s  Journal. 

May  6,  Bishop  Christian  Newcomer,  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  visited  the  Valley,  and  held  meetings  on  the  6th,  7th,  8th, 
and  9th.  Many  souls  confessed  their  sins,  among  the  rest  a  woman 
came  forward  leading  her  daughter.  Blessed  be  God  !  she,  with 
many  others,  found  mercy. — Newcomer' s  Journal. 

James  Jenkins  sold  his  slave,  Tom,  to  Colonel  John  Patton,  of 
Centre  county.  Tom  was  thirty  years  old  when  the  emancipation 
act  of  1780  was  passed,  but  was  registered  defectively,  and  lived  in 
the  belief  that  he  was  still  a  slave.  After  living  many  years  v^^ith 
Colonel  Patton,  he  came  back  to  Buffalo  Valley,  and  became  a 
charge.  The  overseers  removed  him  to  Ferguson,  in  Centre,  and  that 
township  had  to  keep  him. 

List  of  Inhabitants  of  East  Buffalo. 

The  occupation,  where  not  mentioned,  is  that  of  farmer  ;  improve- 
ments, when  not  added  to  the  name,  are  logdiouse  and  barn;  c,  for 
cabin  :  Alsbach,  Mathias  ;  Anderson,  William,  c  ;  Aurand,  John  ; 
Aurand,  Dietrich,  c  ;  Aurand,  Peter,  c  ;  Bailey,  John  ;  Baker,  Wen- 
dell ;  Baldy,  Christopher  ;  Barber,  Martha,  c  ;  Barnhart,  Henry  ; 
Barton,  John,  on  Jasper  Ewing's  place  ;  Baum,  Charles  ;  Baum, 
Samuel  ;  Beatty,  Alexander  ;  Beatty,  John  ;  Betzer,  William  ;  Betz, 
Abram  ;  Betz,  Solomon ;  Bickel,  Christopher  ;  Bickel,  Jacob  ;  Bill- 
myer,  Andrew,  tavern-keeper;  Bo  veard,  James,  c;  Bower,  Casper; 
Bower,  George;  Bower,  Jacob;  Burd,  David,  c  ;  Campbell,  John, 
on  William  Gray's  place  ;  Carothers,  Samuel ;  Cherry,  Charles,  on 
C.  Baldy's  place  ;  Christ,  Adam  ;  Croninger,  Joseph  ;  Colpetzer, 
Adam,  c  ;  Conaly,  John,  distiller  ;  Connell,  William,  c  ;  Coryell, 
Abram,  joiner;  Coryell,  George  ;  Covert,  Luke,  c;  Cox,  Tunis; 
Dale,  Samuel,  Esquire  ;  Davis,  Robert  ;  Derr,  George  ;  Dempsey, 
Widow,  c  ;  Dennis,  John ;  Dersham,  Christian  :  Donnell,  Andrew, 
Esquire ;  Doughman,  Stephen ;  Dreisbach,  Henry  ;  Dreisbach, 
Jacob;  Dreisbach,  Martin  ;    Dunlap,  William,  c;    Dunkle,   Jacob; 


300  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1796. 


Eaylor,  Frederick,  c ;  Emrey,  Jacob ;  Emrey,  William,  a  blacksmith, 
on  John  Sierer's  place;  Eyerly,  Abram,  stone  barn;  Farley,  John, 
c  ;  Farley,  Michael ;  Fisher,  George  ;  Fisher,  William  ;  Foster, 
James  ;  Fought,  Michael ;  Frantz,  Ludwig  ;  Frock,  Henry,  c ;  Free- 
man, Reverend  George  ;  Freeman,  Nathaniel;  Frederick,  Peter; 
Frederick,  George  ;  Foster,  William  ;  Gass,  George  ;  Gass,  Peter  ; 
Goodman,  George,  c  ;  Goodman,  John  ;  Gray,  Robert,  c;  Green- 
hoe,  John  :  Grogg,  Peter,  c ;  Groninger,  Joseph,  c  ;  Grove,  Mi- 
chael, c  ;  Grunner,  Jacob,  c;  Gundy,  Christian,  grist  and  saw-mill 
at  George  Derr's  ;  Harris,  Widow;  Hartley,  John  ;  Haughawaut, 
Leffard,  c ;  Hayes,  John,  surveyor ;  Hayes,  David ;  Holdship, 
Thomas,  shoe-maker;  Holeman,  Martin  ;  Housel,  Peter  ;  Hoy,  John  ; 
Hoy,  Philip  ;  Hubler,  John  ;  Hummel,  John  ;  Hummel,  James, 
house-joiner;  Hunter,  Samuel ;  Huntsman,  John,  junior  ;  Hunts- 
man, James,  senior;  Irwin,  James,  c;  Jenkins,  James,  stone  grist- 
mill ;  Kemble,  Joseph ;  Kemberling,  Jacob,  c  ;  Knight,  Isaac,  c  ; 
Lincoln,  Mishael ;  Long,  George  ;  Lovvrey,  Hugh,  c  ;  Lowrey, 
Widow;  Lutz,  Jacob  ;  McClellan,  James ;  McConnel,  William,  c  ; 
McGee,  James ;  McLaughlin,  John  ;  Maclay,  Samuel,  Esquire  ; 
Macpherson,  John  ;  Maize,  Michael ;  Markle,  John  ;  May,  George  ; 
Metzgar,  Jacob  ;  Miller,  Benjamin  ;  Miller,  Christian  ;  Miller,  Con- 
rad ;  Miller,  George,  c  ;  Mizener,  John;  Mook,  Jacob,  c  ;  Morrison, 
Reverend  Hugh;  Morrison,  Gabriel,  c;  Morton,  Japhet;  Moyer, 
Michael,  saw-mill ;  Nichols,  James,  fuller  ;  Nickle,  Samuel  ;  Over- 
meier,  George, senior;  Overmeier,  George,  junior;  Overmeier,  Peter  ; 
Peters,  Henry,  c  ;  Peters,  Philip  ;  Piper,  William  ;  Poak,  William  ; 
Poak,  Thomas,  malster;  Pollock,  John,  store-keeper  ;  Pontius,  Fred- 
erick ;  Pontius,  Nicholas ;  Pontius,  Henry  ;  Porter,  Samuel ;  Ray, 
John;  Reed,  Robert,  c;  Reedy,  Conrad;  Reedy,  Jacob;  Rengler, 
John,  saw  and  grist-mill ;  Rees,  Daniel,  c  ;  Rees,  Thomas  ;  Rich-  ■ 
ard,  Henry;  Rote,  John;  Sailor,  Henry,  c;  Schrack,  Benjamin; 
Scroggs,  Allen,  c;  Seebold,  Christopher,  grist-mill ;  Sheaffer,  Henry, 
(ferry;)  Sheckler,  Tobias  ;  Sheckler,  Daniel ;  Shipman,  John,  c  ; 
Shively,  Henry,  c;  Shuck,  John  ;  Sierer,  John  ;  Smith,  Michael, 
blacksmith  ;  Stadler,  Valentine,  c  ;  Stahl,  Philip,  saw-mill ;  Steel, 
David,  blacksmith  ;  Sterrett,  Thomas  ;  Struble,  Conrad;  Struble,  ■ 
Adam ;  Snoddy,  James ;  Templeton,  Samuel  ;  Thomas,  Job ;  " 
Thompson,  William,  c,  school-master  ;  Thompson,  James ;  Thomp- 


1796.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  301 

son,  Benjamin  ;  Thompson,  John,  senior ;  Thompson,  John,  junior ; 
Toner,  Charles  ;  Treasonrighter,  Conrad  ;  Ward,  Thomas  ;  Weiser, 
Christopher,  fulling-mill ;  Wilson,  Hugh ;  Wilson,  Thomas  ;  Wine- 
garden,  Widow;  Wise,  Peter;  Wise,  Frederick,  blacksmith;  Wise, 
Frederick;  Wise,  Jacob;  Voneida,  Philip. 

Lewis  burg — Armstrong,  William,  tailor;  Beyer,  Doctor  Charles, 
log  house ;  Black,  James,  stone  house,  store-keeper ;  Caldwell, 
Thomas,  log  house,  store-keeper;  Dunlap,  John,  ferry  and  tavern, 
renter  to  James  Black,  $120;  Ensworth,  Andrew,  log  house,  peddler ; 
Evans,  Joseph,  log  house  and  shop,  cabinet-maker ;  Fulton,  Henry, 
cabin;  Gray,  John,  tavern;  Grove,  Adam,  carpenter;  Grove,  Wen- 
dell, carpenter ;  Henning,  Frederick,  tavern,  log  ;  Hyndman,  Sam- 
uel ;  Kemble,  Lawrence,  log  house,  tinner ;  Knox,  George,  tanner  ; 
Langs,  George,  cooper ;  Lewis,  Alexander,  stone  house  and  kitchen, 
and  a  frame  house  ;  McLaughlin.  Hugh,  tailor ;  Metzgar,  John,  two 
houses,  store-keeper ;  Metzger,  Daniel,  saddler ;  Murphy,  John  ; 
Poak,  William,  log  house  and  kitchen,  tavern-keeper;  Poak,  Thomas, 
log  house  ;  Poak,  George  ;  Roan,  Flavel ;  Sherer,  Richard,  log 
house  ;  Stedman,  William,  stone  house  ;  Shaffer,  Matthias,  carpen- 
ter ;  Troxell,  John;  Welker,  Jacob,  log  house;  Wells,  Joseph, 
shoe-maker;  Wells,  Benjamin,  shoe-maker  ;  Yentzer,  Christian,  log 
house.  ■ 

New  Berlin — Beatty,  William  ;  Beatty,  Hugh ;  Black,  William  ; 
Cook,  James;  Gill,  Isaac ;  Henderson,  James;  Miller,  Christian, 
shop-keeper;  Mitchell,  John ;  Moyer,  George,  tailor ;  Overmeier, 
John;  Rerich,  William,  blacksmith;  Seebold,  Christian,  tavern- 
keeper  ;  Smith,  John,  tavern-keeper ;  Smith,  Peter,  tailor ;  Specht, 
Adam,  shoemaker  ;  Trester,  Martin. 

A  List  of  all  the  Inhabitants  of  West  Buffalo   Township,  with  a 
Description  of  their  Dwellings  and  Occupations. 

Anthony,  George,  wheelwright,  round  log  cabin  ;  Armstrong, 
William,  farmer  ;  Adamson,  William,  cooper,  log  cabin  ;  Ammer- 
man,  Daniel,  jobber,  cabin  ;  Allen,  Obediah,  farmer,  round  log 
cabin ;  Boerhave,  Christopher,  blacksmith,  scutched  log  house, 
stable,  and  cabin  shop,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres  ;  Beeb, 
George,  cropper;  Bruner,  Jacob,  farmer,  cabin,  one  hundred  acres; 


J02  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1796. 

Bruner,  John,  jobber,  cabin,  one  hundred  acres;  Brown,  John, 
farmer,  chip  log  house  and  barn,  spring-house,  shell  of  a  new  log 
house,  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  acres;  Brown,  Christian,  job- 
ber, hewed  log  house,  not  lined;  Black,  William,  school-master,  chip 
log  cabin  ;  Beigh,  Frederick,  cordwainer,  round  log  cabin  ;  Bart- 
ges,  Michael,  nailor,  frame  nailor  shop ;  Ben,  James,  living  with 
his  father-in-law;  Books,  George,  sawyer,  log  cabin;  Banter,  John, 
farmer  ;  Bole,  Henry,  farmer,  chip  log  house  and  barn  ;  Buckalew, 
Peter,  farmer;  Bubb,  George,  farmer,  cabin;  Boveard,  William,  job- 
ber, log  house  and  barn  ;  Buyers,  John,  farmer,  log  cabin;  Barton, 
Kimber,  a  school-teacher ;  Clarke,  Joseph,  colonel's  son,  farm  occu- 
pied by  John  Conser,  one  hundred  acfes  ;  Carmany,  John,  cord- 
wainer, small  hewed  log  house ;  Cox,  William,  jobber,  hewed  log 
house  and  kitchen;  Christ,  Conrad,  cooper,  round  log  cabin;  Coon, 
Conrad,  cordwainer,  round  log  cabin  ;  Clay,  David,  farmer,  round 
log  cabin;  Conser,  John,  stiller,  log  house;  Clark,  John,  farmer, 
log  house;  Coderman,  George,  farmer,  hewed  log  house;  Clark, 
Joseph,  farmer,  round  log  cabin  ;  Carney,  Anthony,  blacksmith, 
round  log  cabin  ;  Crawford,  Edward,  farmer,  log  house ;  Crawford, 
William,  farmer,  log  house  ;  Coderman,  David,  farmer,  log  house 
and  barn;  Carnes,  William,  farmer;  Coderman,  Jacob,  farmer, 
log  cabin  ;  Chambers,  Robert,  farmer,  log  cabin  ;  Chambers,  Mary, 
housekeeper,  log  cabin  ;  Chambers,  Benjamin,  single  man  ;  Der- 
sham,  Ludwig,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  and  barn,  one  hundred 
acres;  Dreisbach,  John,  gunsmith,  hewed  log  house,  stable,  brick 
kitchen  and  frame  shop ;  Derr,  Christian,  house  carpenter,  small 
chip  log  house;  Duncan,  James,  weaver;  Douglass,  William,  farmer, 
log  house  ;  Earnhart,  John,  blacksmith,  hewed  log  house  and  black- 
smith shop  ;  Emery,  John,  blacksmith,  hewed  log  house  and  shop 
on  John  Kleckner's  place ;  Evans,  Nathan,  saddler,  round  log 
cabin;  Emery,  Peter,  farmer,  log  cabin;  Emery,  John,  farmer,  log 
cabin  ;  Everet,  Abel,  miller ;  Fry,  Jacob,  farmer,  hewed  log  house, 
kitchen,  barn,  and  cabin  ;  Forster,  Thomas,  farmer,  chipped  log 
house  ;  Forster,  Robert,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  ;  Fough,  Henry, 
round  log  cabin;  Ford,  Thomas,  farmer,  chip  log  cabin;  Fisher, 
Peter,  sawyer,  cabin  and  saw-mill ;  FidtUer,  Stephen,  blacksmith, 
log  house  and  shop ;  Frederick,  Thomas,  farmer,  log  house ;  Get- 
gen,  Ludwig,  mason,  hewed  log  house;    Ghien,  Nathan,   farmer. 


1796.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  303 

chipped  log  cabin  ;  Gray,  Henry,  farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Get- 
chey,  Adam,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin  ;  Gast,  Jacob,  jobber,  chip- 
ped log  cabin;  Glover,  John,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  and  round 
log  barn,  very  old ;  Grim,  Jacob,  tavern-keeper,  hewed  log  house, 
grist  and  saw-mill;  Gray,  George,  tenant,  log  cabin;  Hyman,  John, 
jobber,  small  cabin;  Holmes,  Jonathan,  small  hewed  log  house; 
Home,  Robert,  shop-keeper,  hewed  log  house  and  chip  log  stable  ; 
Housel,  Jacob,  farmer,  log  cabin  ;  Housel,  Martin,  farmer,  chip 
log  house  and  stable  ;  Hamilton,  Francis,  jobber,  round  log  cabin  ; 
Humler,  Daniel,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin ;  Helman,  John,  jobber, 
chipped  log  cabin  ;  Hickson,  John,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  ;  Hull, 
Thomas,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin  ;  Hoves,  John,  farmer,  round 
log  barn ;  Hendricks,  Henry,  sawyer,  cabin ;  Humler,  Adam, 
farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Iddings,  James,  farmer,  shell  of  a  cabin  ; 
Iddings,  William,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin;  Irwin,  John,  shop- 
keeper, hewed  log  house  and  round  log  house  ;  Johnson,  Christopher, 
farmer,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Jones,  Benjamin,  farmer,  chipped  log 
house ;  Kennedy,  Alexander,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin,  old  stable, 
chipped  log  house  and  barn,  shell,  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  ; 
Kemple,  John,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  and  barn ;  Keney,  David, 
farmer,  round  log  cal)in,  Kleckner,  John,  tavern-keeper,  barn, 
stable,  and  spring  house  ;  Kester,  Henry,  farmer,  log  house  and  saw- 
mill ;  Kester,  Peter,  farmer,  cabin  ;  Kester,  John,  farmer,  log  cabin  ; 
Kester,  John,  sawyer,  log  house  ;  Kester,  Peter,  stiller,  cabin;  Kleck- 
ner, Solomon  clock-maker,  chipped  log  cabin  ;  Lyman,  Michael, 
carpenter,  hewed  log  house;  Langabaugh,  Henry,  weaver,  hewed 
log  house;  Leighty,  John,  tanner,  round  log  house;  Lowdon, 
John,  farmer,  hewed  log  house,  barn,  spring-house,  and  saw-mill; 
Laughlin,  Adam,  farmer,  log  cabin ;  Lewis,  Paschal,  farmer,  log 
house  ;  Mathias,  Jacob,  jobber,  hewed  log  house  and  barn,  one  hun- 
dred acres  ;  Moor,  James,  hunter,  hewed  log  cabin  ;  Moore,  Henry, 
cordwainer,  round  log  cabin,  log  still-house ;  Mettlen,  Patrick, 
farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Mizner,  Adam,  farmer,  hewed  log  cabin  ; 
Midker,  Conrad,  farmer,  round  log  cabin  thatched  ;  Mitchell,  John, 
farmer,  round  log  cabin  ;  Miller,  Bastian,  farmer,  round  log  cabin, 
thatched  roofed  barn;  Mann,  Philip,  farmer,  log  house  ;  Metzger, 
Henry,  jobber,  cabin ;  Means,  Andrew,  millwright,  log  cabin ; 
Mathers,  Samuel,  farmer,  chipped  log  cabin ;    McLain,  John,  cord- 


304  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1796. 


wainer,  hewed  log  house;  McCutchen,  Hugh,  schoolmaster;  Mc- 
Grady,  Alexander,  farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  McCaley,  Alexan- 
der, farmer,  round  log  cabin,  barn  shingled  ;  McMurtrie,  Hugh, 
farmer,  cabin  ;  Noll,  Henry,  cropper,  cabin  building  ;  Neel,  Wil- 
liam, weaver,  chipped  log  weaver  shop ;  Neel,  Henry,  tailor,  hewed 
log  house;  Owens,  Abel,  farmer,  chipped  log  house  ;  Pontius,  An- 
drew, farmer,  house  and  cabin,  barn,  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres ; 
Pontius,  Andrew,  junior,  farmer,  round  log  house  ;  Pontius,  Henry, 
farmer,  hewed  log  house  and  log  cabin;  Peterson,  Robert,  hunter, 
chipped  log  house  and  cabin  stable  ;  Piper,  Henry,  farmer,  hewed 
shell  house  ;  Peters,  Michael,  round  log  cabin  ;  Rockey,  Jacob,  does 
what  he  thinks  best;  Rearick,  John,  farmer,  hewed  log  house,  spring- 
house  and  cabin  barn  ;  Richey,  Andrew,  jobber,  cabin ;  Rockey,  Wil- 
liam, farmer,  hewed  log  house,  cabin  barn,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Rockey, 
John,  tavern-keeper,  hewed  log  house  and  kitchen,  round  log  stable  ; 
Rote,  George,  tavern-keeper ;  Ray,  George,  tavern-keeper,  hewed 
log  house  and  barn  ;  Royer,  Peter,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  and 
barn ;  Reed,  Mary,  Mifflinburg ;  Reedy,  Nicholas,  jobber,  log 
house  ;  Ross,  Charles,  jobber,  scutched  house  ;  Rote,  Peter,  farmer, 
round  log  cabin  ;  Ridabaugh,  Michael,  farmer,  hewed  log  house  and 
barn;  Reznor,  John,  junior,  farmer,  log  house;  Reznor,  John, 
senior,  farmer,  round  log  cabin  ;  Reznor,  George ;  Rote,  John, 
Jacob,  and  George;  keznor,  Hugh,  Moses  Caruther's miller;  Rhine- 
macker,  Baltzer,  farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Spangler,  Christian, 
farmer,  log  house  and  barn,  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  ;  Spangler, 
John,  jobber,  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres ;  Shanke,  Jacob, 
blacksmith,  hewed  log  kitchen  and  shop  ;  Skiles,  James,  jobber, 
chipped  log  house,  small ;  Sample,  Nicholas,  carpenter,  hewed  log 
house  ;  Stotan,  William,  farmer,  chipped  cabin,  barn  and  still-house  ; 
Shrock,  John,  farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Smith,  John,  farmer,  round 
cabin,  house,  and  saw-mill,  round  log  cabin ;  Shriner,  Nicholas,  crop- 
per, hewed  log  cabin ;  vShriner,  Peter,  jobber,  hewed  log  cabin ;  Smith, 
Melchior,  farmer,  chipped  log  house  ;  Shirtz,  Michael,  farmer,  log 
house,  cabin ;  Snook,  William,  farmer,  log  house  ;  Smith,  Ludwig, 
farmer,  log  house,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Smith,  David,  farmer ;  Shri- 
ner, Henry,  jobber,  log  cabin  ;  Spencer,  Joshua,  jobber,  cabin  ; 
Tate,  David,  farmer,  cabin,  house,  scutched  log  barn  ;  Thompson, 
James,  farmer,  hewed  log  house,  round  log  cabin ;  Thomas,  Enoch; 


1796.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  305 

Tittleman,  Godfrey,  farmer,  round  log  cabin ;  Tibbens,  David,  saw- 
yer, cabin;  Trippy,  George,  weaver;  Wise,  Jacob,  farmer,  hewed 
log  house,  spring-house,  and  cabin  barn  ;  Wagner,  Christopher,  car- 
penter, hewed  log  house  ;  Welker,  William,  jobber,  hewed  log  house 
and  kitchen ;  Welker,  Jacob,  tailor,  hewed  log  house ;  Williams, 
Benjamin,  chipped  log  house;  Wigdon,  John,  farmer,  hewed  log 
shell  of  a  house  ;  Wilson,  Hugh,  tavern-keeper,  hewed  log  house,  red 
log  barn,  on  Colonel  Hartley's  place ;  Wilson,  David,  farmer,  one 
slave  ;  Wirebaugh,  Catherine,  house-keeper,  log  house  ;  Wirebaugh, 
Nicholas,  single  man  ;  Winkelpleck,  John,  farmer,  log  house  ;  Ultz, 
Joseph,  farmer,  hewed  log  house,  red  log  stable ;  Ultz,  John,  farmer, 
log  cabin,  round  log  stable  ;  Vorgan,  John,  farmer,  round  log  cabin  ; 
Youngman,  George,  shop-keeper,  hewed  log  house,  shop,  scutched 
log  stable  ;  Youngman,  Thomas,  with  his  father,  a  shell  of  a  scutched 
log  house ;  Youngman,  Elias,  hatter,  chipped  log  house ;  Young, 
Christian,  potter,  hewed  log  house,  round  log  stable;  Zellers,  Peter, 
farmer,  hewed  log  house,  round  log  barn ;  Zipperneck,  Frederick, 
farmer,  round  log  house  and  barn ;  Metzgar,  Jacob,  farmer,  round  log 
cabin. 

Single  Freemen — Barnes,  Aaron  ;  Chambers,  Joseph  ;  Caruthers, 
Moses ;  Crotzer,  John  ;  Duncan,  James  ;  Emery,  Joseph  ;  Hunter, 
John  ;  Love,  Alexander ;  Moore,  Jacob ;  Moore,  John  ;  McCalley, 
David;  Rockey,  Jacob. 

A  List  of  all  the  hihabitants  of  White  Deer  Township,  Dwellings, 
their  Occupation,  !^c. 

All  whose  occupations  are  not  named  were  farmers.  Adams, 
Joseph,  log  house  and  barn  ;  Adams,  James,  square  log  house  and  dou- 
ble barn;  Allen,  Joseph,  cabin  and  still-house ;  Allen,  John,  cabin, 
stable ;  Anderson,  Gailand,  cabin,  saddletree-maker ;  Awl,  Samuel, 
cabin,  shoe-maker;  Bennage,  Simon,  log  house,  one  and  a  half  stories, 
double  barn  ;  Bogender,  Lemuel,  Thomas  Howard's  place,  carpen- 
ter ;  Bole,  Samuel,  log  house,  double  barn ;  Bower,  John,  cabin 
and  stable,  shoe-maker ;  Boyl,  William,  tenant  of  Gideon  Smith; 
Buchanan,  David,  cabin  and  stable,  millwright ;  Carnahan,  Robert, 
cabin  and  still-house  ;  Chamberlin,  William,  frame  house,  log  barn, 
oil,  grist,  and  saw-mill,  log  still-house ;  Clark,  Walter,  square  log  house 
20 


3ob  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1796. 

and  double  barn  ;   Clark,  Robert,  square  log  house  and  double  barn  : 
Clark,  William,  stone  house,  log  barn,  still-house ;  Clark,  George ; 
Cleland,  Arthur,  cabin  and  stable ;    Clendening,   William,   cabin, 
weaver;  Coburn,  William,  cabin  and  stable;  Connelly,  William,  cabin, 
weaver ;   Coulter,  Nathaniel,  cabin,  laborer ;    Darlington,  Joseph, 
cabin;   Davidson,  Thomas,  blacksmith,  log  house ;  Dean,  Samuel, 
cabin,  no  trade ;   Dickey,  George,  saddler ;   Dinning,  Samuel,  log 
house  and  barn  ;  Drielly,  James,  cabin,  weaver ;  Eaker,  Joseph,  cabin 
and  stable,  doctor ;  Elder,  Thomas,  school-master,  cabin,  stable,  and 
corn-crib ;  Elder,  James  ;  Farley,  Caleb,  cabin  and  stable ;  Finney, 
Robert,  log  house  and  double  barn  ;    Finney,  Lazarus,  no  improve- 
ment ;   Fisher,  Paul,  log  house  and  double  barn ;   Fisher,  Henry, 
cabin  and  stable  ;  Fisher,  Michael,  log  house  ;  Fisher,  George,  no  im- 
provement ;   Fisher,  Elizabeth ;    Fisher,  Christian,  cabin  ;    Fisher, 
John,  jobber;    Freeman,  Samuel,   cabin,    weaver;    Fruit,  Robert, 
square  log  house  and  barn  ;   Fruit,  Richard,  log  house,  one  and  a 
half  stories,  stable  ;    Gilliland,  Joseph,   cabin,   cooper ;    Gillespie, 
Charles,    cabin ;    Gilman,    Henry,    large    cabin ;    Gilman,   Jacob, 
large  cabin,  weaver;  Goodlander,   Christian,  cabin,  tailor;   Gott- 
shall,  John,  carpenter  ;  Graham,  Edward,  cabin,  tailor ;  Gray,  Wil- 
liam, Esquire,  log  house,  one  and  a  half  stories,  double  barn,  and  still- 
house  ;   Groninger,  Jacob,  lived  en  William  Wilson's  place,  cabin, 
weaver  ;  Heckle,  Andrew,  log  house  and  double  barn  ;  Henderson, 
William,  cabin,  carpenter,  on  William  Wilson's;  Heriot,  Samuel, 
carpenter  ;  Hies,  George,  cabin,  blacksmith  ;  High,  Peter,  carpenter 
and  tavern-keeper  ;    Hill,  John,  cabin,  shoe-maker ;  Hill,  James, 
small  cabin,  shoe-maker;  Hilliard,  Guy,  cabin,  shoe-maker;    How- 
ard, Thomas,    square    log    house   and   barn ;    Hudson,    William, 
cabin,   mason;    Huffman,    George,    log   house;     Huffman,    John, 
log  house  and  double    barn;     Hunt,    John,    cabin,    blacksmith; 
Hunter.  Agnes,  cabin  ;    Hutchinson,  Thomas,  square  log  house, 
(Patterson's  place  ;)  Iddings,  William,  cabin,  blacksmith  ;   Iddings, 
Henry,    log    house ;     Iddings,    Jonathan,    small    cabin ;    Iddings, 
Isaac,  small  cabin  ;   Irwin,  Richard,  log  house  and  barn,  weaver ; 
Irwin,  William,  cabin  ;  Johnson,  Jean,  cabin,  and  stable;  Jordon, 
Jean,   cabin  and  barn,  clapboard   roof;     Jordon,   William,  cabin, 
boatman  ;    Keller  George,  small  cabin,  wheelright ;   Kelly,  John. 
Esquire,  log  house  and  double  barn;   Kiles,  James,  cabin,  laborer;! 


1796.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  307 

Laird,  Matthew,  log  house  and  barn  ;  Lantz,  Arthur,  log  house 
and  kitchen  ;  Linn,  John,  log  house,  one  and  a  half  stories,  double 
barn,  and  still-house ;  Linn,  Isaiah,  cabin  and  stable ;  Lukey, 
John,  log  house  ;  Luther,  Andrew,  cabin  and  stable,  tailor ;  Mc- 
Beth,  Robert,  log  house,  blacksmith  ;  McClenachan,  Finney,  small 
cabin  ;  McClenachan,  William,  cabin  and  stable,  carpenter  ;  Mc- 
Clenachan, Andrew,  square  log  house ;  McClure,  Roan,  cabin  and 
double  barn  ;  McCorley,  Widow,  log  house,  still-house  ;  McCorley, 
James,  small  cabin,  laborer;  McGaughey,  Andrew,  small  cabin, 
school-master  ;  McGinnes,  James,  weaver ;  McKinley,  Hugh,  small 
cabin,  laborer;  McLaughlin,  James,  small  cabin,  laborer;  Mc- 
Laughlin, William,  small  cabin ;  McWilliams,  James,  small  cabin, 
laborer;  Marshall,  William,  still-house,  distiller;  Marshall,  Stephen, 
small  cabin,  laborer  ;  Martin,  George,  log  house,  old  stable,  shoe- 
maker ;  Martin,  James,  log  house ;  Miller,  Samuel,  cabin  and  stable, 
carpenter;  Mool,  Nicholas,  weaver,  (John  Huffman's;)  Moore, 
James,  cabin  and  stable  ;  Moore,  J»oseph,  log  house  and  double  barn ; 
Moore,  George,  cabin  ;  Nevius,  Christian,  log  house  and  double 
barn ;  Nickles,  Thomas,  cabin,  William  Wilson's  place ;  Nogel, 
Charles,  log  house,  carpenter ;  Norcross,  Abraham,  laborer,  cabin  ; 
Norcross,  John,  frame  house,  hatter,  shop,  ferry,  and  tavern ;  Painter,  1 
Jacob ;  Pollock,  Adam,  stone  house  and  double  barn ;  Pollock,  Jo-  |  'Y 
seph,  log  house  and  double  barn  ;  Rank,  John,  log  house  and  stable ;  ' 
Reed  William,  stepson  of  C.  Gillespie ;  Reninger,  George,  grist, 
saw-mill,  cabin,  and  stable;  Riddle,  George,  square  log  house; 
Rodman,  Hugh,  carpenter;  Shannon,  William,  weaver;  Shaw, 
Hamilton,  large  cabin,  stable;  Shaw,  James,  cabin;  Sherer,  Rich- 
ard, cabin,  still-house,  and  barn ;  Smith,  Gideon,  log  house,  double 
barn,  and  still-house,  joiner ;  Smith,  Catherine,  grist  and  saw-mill ; 
Smith,  Peter,  cabin;  Smith,  John,  cabin;  Smith,  Ludwig ;  Snook, 
Philip,  double  cabin;  Steel,  John,  log  house;  Steel,  Alexander, 
small  cabin ;  Steel,  WiUiam,  tanner,  log  house,  stable,  tan-yard ; 
Stillwell,  Daniel,  square  log  house  ;  Sweesy,  Daniel,  cabin  ;  Thomp- 
son, William,  carpenter,  cabin  ;  Thompson,  William,  school-master,  \ 
cabin ;  Vandyke,  John,  cabin,  barn ;  Vandyke,  Huston,  shoe-maker ; 
Vartz,  Dietrick,  large  cabin;  Vogen,  Robert,  small  cabin,  cooper  ; 
Ward,  Thomas,  Robert  Clarke's  place,  old  cabin,  weaver  ;  Ward, 
John,  cabin,  jobber  ;  Ward,  George,  cabin,  jobber ;  Walles,  John, 


joS  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1796. 

weaver,  cabin  ;  Watts,  John,  carpenter,  cabin  ;    Welsh,  Nicholas, 

stable  and  cabin ;  Welsh,  Ludwig  ;  Wheeland,  Michael,  carpenter, 

cabin ;    Whittemore,  Peter,   cabin,  stable,    and  blacksmith  shop ; 

Wilson,  William,  stone  house,  bank  barn,  and  apple-mill,  tailor; 

Woods,  John,  cabin  and  still-house,  reed-maker ;  Woodside,  David, 

large  cabin,  stable,  and  blacksmith  shop. 

Single  Men — Adams,  James  ;  Adams,  John  ;  Chamberlin,  Enoch, 

miller ;    Clark,  Charles  ;    Clark,  George  ;    Foster,  Hugh,  weaver ; 

Fisher,  William,  miller  ;  Huffman,  George  ;  Hawthorne,  Archibald  ; 

Iddings,  Samuel;  Irwin,  John,  distiller;  Irwin,  Samuel,  weaver; 

Johnston,  William  ;  Lukey,  William,  joiner ;  Lukey,  James ;  Mc- 
.  Cluskey,  Patrick,  distiller ;  Nicholas,  John  ;  Painter,  Henry ;  Pol- 
I  lock,  James  ;  Pollock,  Thomas  ;  Ray.  William  ;  Russell,  Alexander, 

distiller ;  Wheeland,  Samuel. 

Penris — Brause,    Adam ;    Deal,  John  ;    Deitz,    Jacob ;    Filman, 

John  ;  Gaughler,  Nicholas ;  Gehr,  Jacob  ;  Hughes,  Garret ;  Jarret, 

Jacob;  Kern,  Widow;    Kratzer,   Daniel;    Leckington,  Abraham; 

Musselman,  Jacob ;  Price,  Thomas ;  Schuyler,  Nicholas;   Weirick, 

John. 

List  of  Residents,  drc,  of  Mahantango   Township  made  in  1796 — 
Territory,  Chapman,  Ferry,  West  Perry,  now  in  Snyder  County. 

Albright,  Frederick,  senior  and  junior ;  Albright,  John  ;  Ault, 
George  ;  Anderson,  William  ;  Arnold,  Casper,  saw-mill ;  Barnhart, 
Henry;  Bay,  John;  Bickart,  John;  Birchfield,  Charles;  Blasser, 
John ;  Bower,  Daniel ;  Bower,  Peter ;  Bowman,  Jacob ;  Bright, 
Michael ;  Brumbach,  George ;  Burget  or  Burkhart,  Philip,  Esquire ; 
Eckhart,  Jacob;  Forrey,  Christian;  Garman,  Henry,  saw-mill; 
Garman,  John  and  Peter;  Gaughler,  George;  Geltnitz,  Casper; 
Getherd,  Henry,  cooper;  Goy,  Frederick;  Graybill,  Jacob;  Gray- 
bill,  Christian  ;  Graybill,  John  ;  Gunckel,  Jacob  ;  Haflig,  Jacob  ; 
Hagerman,  John;  Hamilton,  James;  Hawn,  Michael,  saw-mill; 
Hawn,  Michael,  junior ;  Heem,  Paul ;  Heffer,  Jacob ;  Heimback, 
Peter;  Heintz,  Doctor  Christian;  Heisler,  Henry;  Herrold,  Simon, 
grist  and  saw-mill;  Herrold,  George;  Hershey,  John;  Hershey, 
John,  junior;  Hetzel,  Mathias  ;  Hoff,  James,  tailor;  Hosterman, 
Peter;  Imhoff,  Charles,  two  stills;  Johnston,  John,  saw-mill;  Jordon, 


1796.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jog 

John  ;  Reiser,  Jacob  ;  Kerstetter,  John  ;  Kerstetter,  George  ;  Ker- 
stetter,  Leonard  ;  Kerstetter,  Martin  ;  Kerstetter,  John,  junior  ;  Ker- 
stetter, Widow;  Leiter,  John;  Livengood,  Jacob;  Livengood,  John, 
Livengood,  Jacob,  saw-mill ;  McClintock,  Samuel ;  Martin,  Jacob ; 
Meiser,  George  ;   Meiser,  Adam  ;  Meiser,  Henry,  junior ;  Meiser, 
Henry,  senior,  saw-mill ;  Meiser,  Michael ;  Meiser,  Phihp ;  Metter- 
ling,  Baltzer;   Nieman,  Wiant,  saw-mill;  Nitz,  Jacob  and  Philip; 
Patterson,  Robert ;  Pfeill,  Henry ;  Reber,  John  ;  Reed,  Frederick  ; 
Reed,  Casper  ;  Reichenbach,  John  ;  Reichenbach,  Jacob  ;  Reinerd, 
George ;    Richter,   Christian ;    Richter,    John ;    Rine   Henry,  two 
stills ;    Roush,  Jacob ;  Roush,   Jacob,    junior ;    Saddler,  Stephen 
Seecrist,  Christian,  saw-mill  and  distillery  ;   Shaffer,  John ;   Shaffer 
Michael,    saw-mill ;     Shaffer,     Peter ;     Shedde,    Henry,    saw-mill 
Shetterly,  John,  saw-mill;  Shetterly,  Henry;  Shetterly,  Catherine 
Shetterly,  Andrew;  Shower,  Adam  and  Michael;  Shreiber,  Philip 
Smith,  David,  oil-mill ;  Snyder,  Herman ;  Snyder,  John,  senior 
Snyder,    Thomas ;     Snyder,    Herman,    senior ;     Snyder,    George, 
shoe-maker;  Snyder,  John,  tanner;  Speese,  Herman;  Stahl,  Fred- 
erick; Stahl,  John;  Stees,  Frederick,  grist  and  saw-mill  and  shop- 
keeper; Stephenson,  Earnest,  weaver;  Stephy,  Adam  and  Leonard 
Straub,  Charles ;  Straub,  Charles,  junior ;  Straub,  Peter ;  Strausser 
Nicholas,  horse  jockey ;  Swartz,  Martin  ;  Swartz,  John  and  Peter 
Thornton,  John;  Thorsby,  William;  Troub,  John;  Vance,  Robert 
Whitmer,  Widow;  Whitmore,  Jacob;  Whitmore,  Samuel,  distillery 
Wiant,  Jacob  ;   Wiant,  John  ,  Witmer,  Abraham ;  Witmer,  Peter, 
saw-mill ;  Woodrow,  Simon ;  Woomer,  Adam  and  Godfrey  ;   Zel- 
lers,  John;  Zimmerman,  Stophel  and  William;  Zually,  John,  weaver. 
Single  Freemen — Goy,  Frederick;  Haak,  Jacob;  Meiser,  George, 
joiner  ;   Nitz,  Jacob ;   Shaffer,  Andrew ;   Stephy,  Frederick,  carpen- 
ter ;  Whitmore,  Samuel ;  Wiant,  Michael ;  Zimmerman,  Jacob. 

Married. 

Sunday  evening,  June  12,  Simon  Snyder,  Esquire,  of  Selinsgrove, 
to  Catherine,  daughter  of  Colonel  Frederick  Antes,  of  Northum- 
berland. 

Deaths. 

Henry  Peters,  East  Buffalo.  Children  :  Anna,  Maria,  Mary,  and 
Barbara. 


jro  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  [1797. 


Joseph  Taveler,  East  Buffalo. 

Abraham  Piatt,  of  Haines.  Children  :  Jane,  Eleanor,  John,  and 
James. 

March  14,  George  Riddle,  son-in-law  of  General  James  Potter, 
deceased. 


^9^ 


White  Deer  Election  District — Books',  Fisher's,  and  Barber's  Mills 
Built — Greenville  Laid  Out. 

iJEMBERS  of  Assembly,  Simon  Snyder  and  Samuel  Ma- 
clay.  County  Commissioners,  Henry  Vanderslice,  Na- 
than Stockman,  and  Charles  Irwin.  Justices  of  the 
Peace  appointed:  Thomas  Shipton,  January  6;  John 
Hayes,  February  2  ;  James  Parks,  March  30  ;  Thomas  McCormick, 
Washington  township,  March  30;  Frederick  Evans,  April  18;  and 
Christian  Espick,  November  27. 

March  21,  by  act  of  Assembly,  all  that  part  of  Washington  that 
belongs  to  Northumberland  county,  and  of  White  Deer  to  Little 
Spruce  run  ;  thence  down  the  same  to  Matthew  Laird's ;  and  thence 
to  the  river,  where  Peter  Swartz  formerly  lived,  (now  Mr.  Miller's 
place;)  thence  down  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek,  was 
included  in  the  eighth  election  district,  which  held  its  election  at 
William  Gallagher's  in  Milton  ;  and,  by  the  apportionment  of  this 
year,  Northumberland  county  became  entitled  to  two  members. 

Additional  Taxables  of  White  Deer — Adams,  John  ;  Adams,  Wil- 
liam ;  Busser,  Jacob  ;  Chamberlin,  William,  junior  ;  Kelly,  John, 
junior;  Shrock,  Aaron;  Spotts,  Jacob.  Henry  Gray,  Thomas 
Fredericks,  and  Michael  Greenhoe,  had  saw-mills,  and  George 
P.ooks  erected  the  Books'  saw-mill,  in  West  Buffalo.  He  was  a  pow- 
erful man.     In  a  fight  at  Rockey's  mill,  he  caught  two  men,  Bogen- 


1797.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jir 

reif  and  Iddings,  and  butted  their  heads  together.     Books  removed 
to  Ohio,  and  died  there. 

Peter  Fisher  built  the  grist-mill,  lately  Samuel  Weidensaul's,  on 
Penn's  creek,  at  the  mouth  of  Laurel  run.  Fisher's  successor  at 
the  mill  was  John  Williams,  his  son-in-law.  George,  Henry,  and 
John  Weirick  built  Robert  Barber's  grist-mill,  on  White  Spring  run. 
William  Weirick,  who  was  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Weiricks,  mill- 
wrights, lost  his  life  about  this  time,  at  a  mill  on  the  Juniata.  He 
slept  in  the  mill,  arose  in  sleep,  and  fell  through  an  opening  to  the 
bottom  of  the  mill. 

Store-keepers  in  Lewisburg — James  Black,  who  had  William  Hayes 
for  his  clerk,  William  McQuhae,  and  Henry  Spyker.  Christian  Read 
built  the  barn  of  the  latter.  He  charges  him  with  sixteen  gallons 
of  whisky,  used  at  the  work  from  June  29  to  September. 

April  3,  George  Derr  sold  Tobias  Lehman  his  Lewisburg  mill 
property  and  two  hundred  and  eight  acres  of  land. 

May  18,  Frederick  Evans  laid  out  the  property,  late  of  George 
Rote,  in  lots,  and  called  it  Greenville.  It  adjoined  Youngmanstown, 
and  is  now  within  the  limits  of  Mifflinburg. 

At  the  election  in  October,  Robert  Irwin  had  eighteen  hundred 
and  forty-six  votes ;  Robert  Brady,  the  next  highest,  ten  hundred 
and  fifty-three.  The  majority  for  Irwin  was  so  large,  he  could  not 
be  safely  set  aside,  and  was  accordingly  commissioned,  October  18. 

Married. 

February  9,  Thomas  Howard  married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Widow  Mary  Harris. 

Deaths. 

January  8,  Mary,  wife  of  Robert  Chambers,  aged  sixty-one  years. 

George  Rote.  Children  :  Peter,  Jacob,  George,  Abraham,  and 
John.  Sons-in-law,  John  Kessler,  Michael  Shirtz,  Adam  Colpetzer, 
Joseph  Ultz,  Frederick  Bartges,  and  James  Ben.  The  latter  married 
the  daughter  who  was  a  prisoner  with  the  Indians.  They  last  re- 
sided on  Spring  creek,  Centre  county,  where  she  died,  and  he 
married  a  Widow  Murphy. 


>7 


179 


The  Presbyterian  Grave-yard  at  Lewisburg — Ferry  Landing  Dispute 
— Politics — Death  of  Captain  John  Lowdon. 

fAMUEL  DALE  and  Samuel  Maclay,  Senators.  Mem- 
bers of  Assembly,  Simon  Snyder  and  Jacob  Fulmer. 
Sheriff,  Robert  Irwin.  Register  and  Recorder,  Jere- 
miah Simpson,  commissioned  July  24.  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  Simon  Snyder,  junior,  March  13.  John  Lawson,  May  3. 
Seventh  division.  Major  General  William  Montgomery.  Second 
brigade.  Brigadier  General  William  Wilson,  commissioned  March 
24.  Brigade  Inspector,  Bernard  Hubley,  commissioned  June  8. 
Buffalo  :  Supervisors,  Peter  Frederick  and  John  Beatty.  Col- 
lector, Hugh  Beatty. 

West  Buffalo :  Supervisors,  David  Smith  and  John  Reznor.  On 
the  4th  of  April  West  Buffalo  was  erected  into  the  fourth  district, 
and  the  election  directed  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  James  Forster. 

January  10,  James  Sherer  appointed  the  first  postmaster  at  Lewis- 
burg. 

In  February,  Walter  Clark,  William  Gray,  and  William  Wilson, 
trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard  at  Lewisburg,  presented  a 
petition  to  the  Legislature,  setting  forth  that  many  had  buried  their 
friends  in  lot  No.  48,  (next  Weidensaul's  hotel  lot,)  and  there  were 
no  persons  buried  in  No.  42,  (C.  D.  Cox's  hotel  lot,)  and  asking 
authority  to  sell  No.  42,  (which,  with  44  and  46,  were,  on  the  26th 
of  March,  1785,  conveyed  to  them  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  of  Buffalo,  for  the  purpose  of  a  burying- 

312 


1798.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jij 

ground,  by  Ludwig  Derr,  the  proprietor,)  and  to  buy  No.  48.  An 
act  passed  accordingly. — 3  Smith's  Laws,  304. 

Additional  Taxables  in  Penn' s  township — John  Binkomer,  store- 
keeper; Joseph  Barger,  saw-mill;  Adam  Brause,  saw,  grist-mill,  and 
distillery;  John  Dusing,  shoe-maker  and  fiddler;  Frederick  Dreone, 
surgeon  and  fiddler ;  Michael  Galer,  saw-mill ;  Adam  Fisher,  store- 
house and  ferry  ;  Henry  Haus,  saw-mill ;  George  Kessler,  tanner  ; 
Valentine  Laudenslager,  grist-mill  and  store;  Francis  Rhoades, 
tavern,  ferry,  and  store-house  ;  John  Swineford,  tavern ;  Neal  St. 
Clair,  taxed  with  a  negro ;  A.  Swineford,  two  mulattoes. 

During  this  year  James  Black,  owner  of  lot  No.  341,  on  which 
Nesbit  &  Brother's  store  and  house  now  stand,  brought  an  eject- 
ment to  maintain  their  landing  privilege  on  the  river  opposite  that 
lot.  William  Stedman  and  John  Smith  haci  a  store  in  the  stone 
building  opposite,  owned  by  Cowden  &  Hepburn,  and  the  writ  was 
,  served  upon  them  as  tenants. 

Francis  Guise  had  bought  No.  341  of  George  Derr,  on  the  5  th  of 
October,  1785,  and  on  his  deed  was  recited  the  privilege  of  a  land- 
ing on  the  bank  of  the  river,  opposite  to  and  of  the  same  breadth 
of  No.  341.  The  claim  was  for  the  ground  between  the  eastern 
boundary  of  said  lot  and  low  water-mark,  on  part  of  which  the  stone 
building  was  erected,  but  the  landing  was  unobstructed.  Black  was 
defeated  on  the  ground  that  an  ejectment  will  not  lie  for  a  mere 
privilege  or  an  incorporeal  hereditament. — 2  Yeates,  331.  Hugh 
Wilson  bought  No.  341  at  the  sheriff's  sale  of  James  Black's  prop- 
erty, in  1800,  and  sold  it  4th  May,  18 10,  to  Adam  Grove,  who 
sold  it  on  the  8th  of  May,  1822,  to  the  late  Thomas  Nesbit,  de- 
ceased. 

During  the  summer,  politics  ran  high  ;  the  Republicans  attacking 
the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  and  elevating  to  the  rank  of  martyrs 
those  who  had  been  prosecuted  under  the  sedition  laws.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  in  Lewisburg,  for  the  purpose  of  addressing  the  President, 
John  Adams,  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison  was  one  of  the  principal 
speakers,  and  in  his  public  speech,  indulged  in  abuse  of  Samuel 
Maclay  and  his  family. 

Deaths. 

Robert  Clark,  leaving  a  widow,  Jane.    Children  :  Eleanor  Fruit, 


314  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1798. 

Margaret  Ayres,  Robert,  George,  Charles,  and  John.  His  brother, 
Walter,  and  his  son,  John,  executors. 

John  Murphy,  Lewisburg.  Children  :  Benjamin,  John,  Henry, 
Mary,  Nancy,  and  Sally. 

John  Wales,  New  Berlin.  Widow,  Ann  M.  Children  :  James, 
John,  Joseph,  Jacob,  and  Sarah. 

Christian  Miller,  distiller,  New  Berlin. 

Captain  John  Lowdon  died  at  his  residence,  near  Mifflinburg,  in 
February.  His  parents  were  Richard  Lowdon  and  Patience  Wright, 
(married  by  Friends'  ceremony,  June  5,  1728,)  of  Hempfield,  (now 
Columbia,  Pennsylvania.)  He  was  born  July  5,  1730;  married 
March  27,  1760,  by  Thomas  Barton,  missionary,  at  Lancaster. 
As  early  as  1756,  Mr.  Shippen  recommends  him  for  a  commission 
as  ensign.  He  was  an  inn-keeper  at  Lancaster  in  June,  1770,  and 
during  this  year  took  up  a  great  deal  of  land  in  Buffalo  Valley.  The 
land  on  which  Northumberland  now  stands  was  patented  to  his  wife, 
Sarah,  in  1770,  and,  in  connection  with  William  Patterson,  he  laid 
out  that  town.  Reuben  Haines  made  an  addition  to  it,  January  19, 
1781,  of  land  sold  him  by  Lowdon  in  1775.  In  the  spring  of  1772, 
he  moved  into  Buffalo  Valley,  residing  at  a  place  he  called  Silver 
Spring,  afterward  sold  by  his  executors  to  Roush,  now  owned  by 
Levi  Shoemaker.  His  wife  died  previous  to  the  year  1 775,  as  during 
this  year  he  signed  deeds  alone,  and  it  appears  by  a  letter  dated  the 
i8th  of  July,  1775,  to  Captain  Lowdon,  at  that  time  in  the  field, 
that  his  five  children  were  with  his  mother's  family,  at  Hempfield. 
His  prominence  in  political  agitations  prior  to  the  Revolution,  will 
be  seen  by  the  correspondence  of  that  period,  published  under  those 
years,  and  what  he  said  in  the  cabinet  he  was  not  afraid  to  make 
good  on  the  field  of  battle.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  reached  the  county,  he  enlisted  a  company  of  ninety- 
seven  men  and  set  off  for  Cambridge.  After  his  return,  on  Novem- 
ber 7,  1776,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  of  Northumberland  county,  serving  for  one  year.  He  owned 
an  immense  body  of  land  during  his  life,  embracing  nearly  the  whole 
of  West  Buffalo  township,  besides  large  quantities  now  lying  in  Cen- 
tre and  Northumberland.  Philip  Pontius  told  me  he  often  visited 
at  his  father's,  Lieutenant  Henry  Pontius,  and  he  recollects  his  ap- 
pearance distinctly.     He  was  a  large,  well-proportioned  man,  with 


1798,]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  315 

a  very  pleasant  expression  of  countenance.  Doctor  W.  I.  Wilson 
(of  Potter's  Mills)  told  me,  when  a  boy  he  often  saw  Captain  Low- 
don  at  the  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  church.  He  wore  a  cocked  hat, 
blue  coat,  buff  vest  and  breeches,  silver  knee  and  shoe  buckles.  He 
was  married  the  second  time.  His  will,  dated  November  10,  1797, 
named  his  wife,  Ann,  and  two  daughters,  Susanna,  married  to  Samuel 
Wright,  (grandfather  of  Samuel  Wright,  of  Columbia,  Pennsylvania,) 
Catherine,  unmarried,  and  three  grandchildren,  John  Lowdon  Stake, 
Charlotte  and  Catherine  Stake.  He  left  an  annuity  to  his  brother, 
Richard,  who  died  unmarried.  Captain  Lowdon's  children  by  his 
first  wife  were,  Margaret,  Susan,  James,  Patience,  and  Catherine. 
Margaret  married  J.  Stake  ;  Susan,  Samuel  Wright,  above  named ; 
their  child,  the  late  John  L.  Wright.  Margaret's  children  were 
Charlotte  and  Catherine.  Charlotte  married  J.  Quest ;  Catherine, 
A.  Chenowith.  Lowdon  Stake  never  married,  and  that  name  be- 
came extinct.  Captain  Lowdon's  remains  were  conveyed  down  the 
river  to  Columbia,  and  buried  there  in  the  old  burying-ground. 
Mrs.  Wright,  mother  of  William  Wright,  of  Harlem,  Stephenson 
county,  Illinois,  and  daughter  of  the  late  Paschal  Lewis,  of  Buffalo 
Valley,  now  in  her  eighty-first  year,  says  her  father  and  mother  went 
part  of  the  way,  the  day  of  the  funeral,  from  Lowdon's  house  to  the 
river,  or  possibly  to  Penn's  creek ;  that  after  Captain  Lowdon's 
death,  his  slaves  were  brought  over  from  his  farm  and  left,  part  of 
them  at  Robert  Barber's  and  part  at  her  father's,  to  stay  until  such 
time  as  Robert  Barber  was  ready  to  start  down  with  a  raft  or  ark. 
He  took  them  to  Columbia  in  that  way.  They  had  been  slaves  pre- 
vious to  1780,  and  the  young  ones  were  still  in  their  apprenticeship, 
and  as  his  estate  was  bound  to  take  care  of  the  older  ones,  Samuel 
Wright,  his  son-in-law,  set  apart  forty  acres  for  their  habitation 
and  maintenance,  on  the  east  side  of  Columbia,  back  of  the  river. 
Among  these  were  Chloe  and  Phillis.  Chloe  was  a  regular  Congo. 
Phillis  died  a  few  years  ago,  aged  one  hundred  and  five.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  famous  Tow  Hill,  so  well  known  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia  slave  hunters  as  the  refuge  of  their  slaves.  [William 
Wright's  letter,  1871.]  John  C.  Watson  said,  the  day  of  Captain 
Lowdon's  funeral  the  creek  rose  very  high,  and  they  could  not  get 
over  with  the  coffin,  when  "  Mel,"  Colonel  Clarke's  slave,  shouldered 
the  coffin  and  went  over  the  foot-log  with  it. 


h- 


1799 


Hartleton — Sketch  of  Colonel  Thomas  Hartley — Lists  of  Taxables 
— Martin  Dreisbach — Thomas   Wilson. 

NDREW  GREGG,  Member  of  Congress.     Samuel  Dale 
and  Samuel  Maclay,  Senators.     Jacob  Fulmer  and  Si- 
mon Snyder,  members  of  the  House.     Henry  Spyker, 
S|J  commissioned   Justice  of  the   Peace   for  East   Buffalo, 
March  9  ;  John  Cummings,  Beaver,  December  6. 

Hartleton  was  laid  out  by  Colonel  Thomas  Hartley,  who  owned 
the  site  and  a  considerable  body  of  land  around  it.  His  first  deed 
for  a  lot  is  dated  March  28,  1799.  There  is  no  plan  of  the  place 
on  record.  Colonel  Hartley  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  born  near 
Reading,  September  7,  1748,  admitted  at  York,  July  25,  1769. 
He  was  lieutenant  colonel  of  sixth  Pennsylvania  battalion,  Colo- 
nel William  Irvine,  and  commanded  the  battalion  after  Colonel 
Irvine's  capture  at  Three  Rivers.  The  anonymous  letters  published 
in  Force's  Archives,  describing  this  campaign,  were  written  by  Col- 
onel Hartley.  This  battalion  served  one  year.  There  were  two 
additional  regiments  to  the  Pennsylvania  line  raised  in  the  State  in 
1777,  whose  officers  were  to  be  appointed  by  General  Washington. 
Colonel  Hartley  was  appointed  to  one,  and  commanded,  tempora- 
rily, a  brigade  at  Brandywine.  In  1778,  his  regiment  was  ordered 
into  the  West  Branch  valley.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1779,  it 
was  combined  with  the  other  additional  regiment.  Colonel  John 
Patton's,  under  the  name  of  eleventh,  the  old  eleventh  having  been 
broken  up;  whereupon,  February  13,  Colonel  Hartley  retired  from 
service,  and  Lieutenant    Colonel  Adam  Hubley  succeeded  to  the 

i/6 


1799.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  317 

command  of  the  eleventh.  In  1783  he  was  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Censors;  in  1787,  of  the  State  Convention.  In  1788,  he 
was  elected  to  Congress,  and  continued  a  member  until  his  death, 
December  21,  1800.  He  died  at  York,  aged  fifty-three,  and  is 
buried  in  St.  John's  church-yard  there.  He  left  two  children,  Charles 
William  Hartley,  some  time  prothonotary  of  York  county,  and 
Eleanor,  married  to  Doctor  James  Hall,  afterward  physician  to  the 
lazaretto,  at  Philadelphia. 

Among  Taxables  in  White  Deer — Awl,  John  ;  Bennage,  George  ; 
Baughner,  William ;  Bellman,  George ;  Bennage,  John  ;  Bower, 
Moses;  Covert,  Isaac;  Covert,  John;  Gottshall,  Michael;  Linn, 
Charles  ;  Nees,  Henry  ;  Orr,  John  ;  Oliphant,  Andrew  ;  Rauthraff, 
Henry;  Sheetz,  Jacob. 

Single  men — Chamberlin,  Tenbrooke  ;  Davis,  Stephen  ;  Luther, 
John  ;  Stahl,  George  ;  and  Rank,  Adam. 

In  West  Buffalo — Christopher  Johnston  is  taxed  with  grist  and 
saw-mill ;  Peter  Rote,  grist  and  saw-mill ;  Burrows,  Aaron  ;  Betz, 
Adam,  tavern-keeper  ;  McClelland,  James,  miller  at  Barber's  White 
Springs.  He  was  a  great  joker,  and  his  fun  was  still  current  among 
the  old  people  when  I  began  these  Annals.  Saunders,  Henry ; 
Shively,  Christian,  son  of  John ;  Webb,  George,  hatter ;  Wilt, 
Adam  ;   Wilt,  George. 

In  East  Buffalo — Auple,  Conrad  ;  Baker,  Wendell,  two  mills  ; 
Barber,  Joseph,  blacksmith ;  Beatty,  Ann,  widow  ;  Betzer,  Conrad, 
cordwainer ;  Betting,  Joseph  ;  Boyles,  William  ;  Breyvogel,  Jacob  ; 
Christie,  James ;  Collin,  John ;  Cook,  John,  cabin ;  Cornelius, 
John;  Coser,  Andrew;  Ewing,  Joshua;  Ej^er,  John;  Frederick, 
George,  inn-keeper;  Gross,  Jacob;  Hudson,  William,  mason; 
Kinney,  Martin  ;  Lehman,  Tobias,  two  mills  ;  McKinley,-  Hugh  ; 
Ness,  Jonathan  ;  Nevel,  Nicholas ;  Oldt,  John  ;  Poeth,  Joseph ; 
Sherer,  William,  weaver;  Shout,  Adam,  shoe-maker;  Strayhorn, 
Nathaniel ;  St.  Clair,  John ;  Taylor,  James  Graham ;  Taylor,  Wil- 
liam, tailor ;  Truitt,  Andrew  ;  Watkins,  Joseph,  weaver ;  Wetzel, 
Jacob  ;  Whitmer,  Peter,  blacksmith  ;  Wigton,  John  ;  Wilson,  Hugh, 
(Ridge  ;)  Wright,  John  ;  Wolfe,  Michael  ;  Young,  Jacob  ;  Zeih- 
rung,  John. 

Philip  Callahan  was  one  of  the  principal  school-teachers  in  the 


3t8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1799. 

Valley.     He  had  a  large  account  at  Henry  Spyker's  store  for  whisky 
and  tobacco. 

The  difficulty  between  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison  and  Honorable 
Samuel  Maclay  terminated  in  a  suit  for  slander.  Morrison  vs. 
Maclay,  loi  August  term;  Evan  R.  Evans  for  plaintiff,  Messrs. 
Moore,  Cooper,  and  Roberts  for  defendant.  It  was  regularly  con- 
tinued until  1 817,  when  the  clients  and  most  of  the  lawyers  had 
appeared  before  another  bar. 

George  Frederick  started  the  first  hotel  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads. 

In  1799,  Mifflinburg~was  the  largest  town  in  the  Valley.  Its  resi- 
dents were  Ayers,  James,  shoe-maker ;  Bartges,  Michael,  nailor ; 
Barton,  Kimber,  tavern-keeper ;  Black,  William,  shoe-maker ;  Car- 
mony,  John,  shoe-maker;  Carothers,  Moses;  Clark,  Daniel,  tanner; 
Clark,  Adam,  jobber ;  Collins,  Michael,  jobber ;  Crotzer,  John, 
carpenter ;  Crotzer,  Jacob,  tailor ;  Derr  Christian,  joiner ;  Dreis- 
bach,  John,  gunsmith ;  Earnhart,  John,  blacksmith ;  Eilert,  Chris- 
topher, farmer  ;  Ely,  John,  clock-maker  ;  Evans,  Nathan,  saddler  ; 
Forster,  James,  tavern-keeper ;  George,  Simon,  laborer ;  Getgen, 
Ludwig,  mason ;  Gibbons,  John,  joiner ;  Hassenplug,  Henry, 
brewer ;  Herring,  Adam ;  Herrington,  Nathan,  cooper ;  Holmes, 
Robert,  store-keeper;  Holmes,  Jonathan,  jobber;  Irvine,  John, 
store-keeper ;  Layman,  Michael,  joiner ;  Eighty,  John,  tanner ; 
Longabaugh,  Henry,  laborer;  Moss,  Patrick,  jobber;  Neel,  Henry, 
tailor ;  Paget,  George,  school-teacher ;  Patterson,  John ;  Patton, 
Andrew,  wheelwright;  Peters,  PhiHp,  carter;  Rockey,  Jacob; 
Rote,  Widow;  Rudy,  Nicholas,  tailor;  Russ,  Charles;  Russ,  George, 
tailor;  Sampsel,  Nicholas,  wheelwright;  Shock,  Michael,  carpenter; 
Shock,  Jacob,  blacksmith  ;  Skiies,  James ;  Van  Buskirk,  Richard, 
tavern-keeper  ;  Wagner,  Christopher,  farmer ;  Webb,  John,  hatter ; 
Welker,  Jacob,  tailor ;  Welker,  William,  jobber ;  Young,  Peter, 
shoemaker;  Youngman,  Elias ;  Youngman,  George,  post-master; 
Youngman,  Thomas,  store-keeper. 

Additional  Taxables  in  Penn's — Adams,  John,  weaver;  Ander- 
son, Jacob,  inn-keeper;  Auple,  Peter,  inn-keeper;  Balliet,  Nicholas, 
tanner ;  Bard,  Jacob,  skin-dresser ;  Berger,  Bostian,  weaver ;  Berry, 
John,  potter;  Beyer,  Christian,  carpenter;  Bleiler,  David,  mill- 
wright; Bloom,  Henry,  weaver;  Bowersox,  George  A.,  mason; 
Bower,  Philip,  inn-keeper;  Boyer,  John,  blacksmith;  Bryan,  George, 


1799.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  jig 

tailor;  Bucher,  John,  blacksmith;  Bull,  Nicholas,  tailor;  Bum, 
Peter,  saw-mill;  Clymer,  Isaac,  shoemaker;  Cooper,  Martin,  cooper; 
Dauberman,  John,  carpenter;  Deitz,  Jacob,  blacksmith;  Engel, 
George,  weaver;  Epler,  John,  nailor;  Esterlin,  Frederick,  carpenter; 
Etzweiler,  George,  potter ;  Filman,  John,  weaver ;  Fisher,  Peter, 
weaver;  Frey,  David,  shoe-maker;  Fuehrer,  Joseph,  tobacconist; 
Gaughler,  Nicholas,  gunsmith;  Gemberling,  Jacob,  nailor;  Gem- 
berling,  George,  carpenter ;  Giltner,  Christian,  carpenter ;  Grove, 
Richard,  saddler;  Grub,  John,  carpenter;  Hackenberg,  John,  car- 
penter; Hager,  John,  died;  Haines,  John  and  George,  wheelwrights; 
Harland,  Thomas,  miller;  Holtzapple,  Henry,  miller;  Hummel, 
Jacob,  distiller ;  Hummel,  Frederick,  shoe-maker ;  Kelly,  John, 
carpenter;  Kratzer,  Benjamin,  shoe-maker;  Kreider,  Isaac,  carpen- 
ter ;  Kuhn,  Jacob,  weaver  ;  Leist,  Andrew,  mason  ;  Long,  Peter, 
shoe-maker;  Maurer,  John,  nailor;  Merkel,  George,  turner;  Meyer, 
John,  son  of  Stephen,  shoe-maker;  Meyer,  Jacob,  son  of  Stephen, 
tailor;  Miller,  George,  tailor;  Neaman,  Peter,  fiddler;  Nelson, 
John,  tailor;  Oberdorf,  Henry,  mason;  Oswald,  John,  tailor;  Row, 
John  and  Frederick,  masons ;  Rupp,  George,  carpenter ;  Shearer, 
Andrew,  blacksmith ;  Shock,  Jacob,  blacksmith ;  Snyder,  John, 
tailor;  Snyder,  George,  shoe-maker;  Snyder,  George,  inn-keeper; 
Snyder,  Simon,  junior,  inn-keeper ;  Spade,  George,  mason ;  Straw, 
Andrew,  hatter;  Stump,  Jacob,  shoe-maker ;  Wales,  James,  mill- 
wright; Weiser,  Benjamin,  tailor;  Weikel,  Christian,  tailor;  Werlin, 
Michael,  ferry  and  saw-mill;  Westman,  Jacob,  carpenter;  Witten- 
moyer,  Michael,  clock-maker ;  Wolf,  Philip,  millwright ;  Yoder, 
Henry,  carpenter ;  Yoder,  Jacob,  potter. 

Beaver,  additional  Residents,  ^c. — Aurand,  Daniel ;  Barlet,  Ja- 
cob ;  Blompon,  Conrad,  mill ;  Cummings,  John  ;  Fry,  Jacob  and 
Abraham;  Gilman,  Henry;  Grosscope,  Samuel;  Heil,  Daniel; 
Howell,  John,  fulling-mill;  Lehr,  William;  Manning,  Richard;  Mid- 
dlesworth,  John  ;  Miller,  John  ;  Peters,  Jacob  ;  Reigeldorf,  Adam  ; 
Romig,  Joseph,  mills;  Rote,  Jacob  and  John;  Smith,  Adam;  Steele, 
Adam  ;  Sterninger,  Dewalt ;  Wise,  John,  miller;  Zerns,  Jacob,  paper 
mill. 

Single  Men — Hoyn,  Henry,  in  a  store  with  Henry  Aurand ;  Kern, 
Adam;  Kern,  Peter;  Mussina,  Zacharias;  Weber,  John. 

At  the  October  election,  Thomas  McKean  received,  in  Northum- 


320  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1799. 

berland  county,  2,997  votes;  James  Ross,  of  Pittsburgh,  637  for 
Governor.  Jacob  Fulmer  and  Simon  Snyder  were  the  two  highest 
candidates  for  Assembly,  Fuhner  havmg  3,569  ;   Snyder,  3,047. 

Deaihs. 

On  the  1 8th  of  February,  Martin  Dreisbach,  senior,  aged  eighty- 
two.  He  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1752,  and  came  into  Buffalo 
Valley  in  1773,  having  purchased  from  Doctor  William  Plunket  the 
tract  still  owned  by  the  Dreisbachs.  He  left  four  sons,  Henry,  Jacob, 
John,  and  Martin,  junior.  Henry  went  to  Ohio  in  the  year  1804, 
and  laid  out  the  town  of  Circleville.  Jacob  died  on  John  Dunkle's 
farm.  John  lived  and  died  at  Mifflinburg.  George,  Ellis,  and  John 
were  his  sons.  Martin,  junior,  died  at  his  place,  near  the  church. 
Martin,  senior,  was  of  the  German  Reformed  faith,  and  donated  seven 
acres  of  his  place  for  church  and  grave-yard  purposes.  "  The  Dreis- 
bach Church"  will  be  his  memorial  in  all  future  time.  One  of  his 
daughters  married  Henry  Aurand  ;  another,  Peter  Fisher.  Honor- 
able Martin  Dreisbach,  (third,)  and  Honorable  John  Dreisbach,  for- 
merly of  the  State  Legislature,  are  of  his  grandchildren. 

Philip  Stahl,  of  White  Deer.  (He  was  a  brother  of  Jacob.)  His 
children  were  John,  Jacob,  Philip,  and  Peter. 

Thomas  Wilson. 

February  23,  Thomas  Wilson,  of  East  Buffalo.  He  lived  on  the 
Meixell  place,  (fair  ground.)  His  grandfather  was  the  first  to  pass 
the  Boyne,  when  William  of  Orange  defeated  the  Irish  Papists.  For 
his  services  he  drew  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  He  resided 
within  a  mile  of  Coats'  Hill,  county  town  of  Cavan,  in  the  north  of 
Ireland.  He  owned  a  large  body  of  land  there,  having  sixty  tenants. 
His  son  Thomas  had  but  one  child,  Hugh,  to  whom  his  estates  de- 
scended. The  latter  disliked  living  among  the  Papists  so  much,  that 
he  sold  his  estates,  and  came  to  America,  and  finally  settled  in  the 
forks  of  the  Delaware.  Hugh  bought  twelve  hundred  acres  of  land 
of  the  Aliens,  but  lost  six  hundred,  a  superior  title  intervening.  His 
farm  in  Northampton  was  owned,  in  1844,  by  a  man  named  Levan, 
had  mills  upon  it,  and  is  very  valuable.     In  1737,  he,  with  Colonel 


1799.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  321 

Martin,  laid  out  the  town  of  Easton,  and,  with  Judge  Craig,  organ- 
ized and  held  the  first  court  held  in  Northampton  county,  in  1752. 
He  left  a  large  family. 

I.  Wilham  Wilson,  a  merchant,  in  Philadelphia.  He  went  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  died  there.  2.  Ann,  married  to  Reverend  Mc- 
Reynolds,  of  Deep  Run,  Presbyterian  preacher.  3.  Ehzabeth,  mar- 
ried to  Captain  William  Craig.  4.  Charles,  father  of  Judge  Hugh 
Wilson,  of  the  Ridge,  some  of  whose  grandchildren  are  still  in 
the  Valley  :  Robert,  a  merchant  at  Mifflinburg ;  Charles,  a  grand- 
son, is  baggage-master  on  the  Pennsylvania  road,  at  Altoona.  5. 
Samuel.  6.  Margaret,  married  to  McNair.  7.  Francis,  went  back 
to  the  old  country,  and  returned  an  Episcopal  minister ;  settled  near 
Mount  Vernon,  taught  in  General  Lee's  family,  and  was  intimate  in 
General  Washington's  family.  His  family  called  him  ' '  Aun  Boyne," 
to  remind  him  that  he  had  made  too  great  concessions  in  becoming 
an  Episcopalian.  8.  Thomas  Wilson,  whose  death  we  are  recording. 
He  was  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  his  father,  Hugh,  moved 
his  family  to  America,  making  their  emigration  about  1730.  He 
spent  a  great  deal  of  his  means  purchasing  flour,  and  forwardhig  it 
to  the  revolutionary  army.  He  was  paid  in  Continental  money,  and 
his  loss  on  its  depreciation  was  about  seven  thousand  dollars,  which 
reduced  his  circumstances  very  materially.  He  sold  out  his  place 
in  Northampton,  moved  to  the  Susquehanna,  and  bought  the  place 
now  owned  (1877)  by  Joseph  Meixell's  heirs,  about  one  half  mile 
from  Lewisburg,  where  he  died.  His  grave  is  under  the  steps  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  It  was  not  disturbed  by  the  building,  but 
the  tombstones  of  himself  and  his  son  Francis,  were  removed  to  the 
Wilson  lot,  in  the  Lewisburg  cemetery.  His  widow,  whose  name 
before  marriage  was  Elizabeth  Hayes,  moved,  in  1803,  with  her  sons, 
William  and  Thomas,  to  Beaver  county,  where  she  died  in  181 8. 
Their  children  were  Hugh,  father  of  Francis  Wilson ;  Sarah,  mar- 
ried to  Richard  Fruit,  moved  to  Mercer  county,  died  in  the  spring 
of  1844;  Eliazbeth,  married  to  James  Duncan,  of  Aaronsburg  ;  she 
died  in  1797  ;  Mary,  married  to  Jonathan  Coulter,  sheriff  of  Beaver 
county;  William  Wilson,  died  in  Beaver,  1841;  James  Wilson,  at- 
torney-at-law,  died  in  New  Orleans,  1800;  Margaret  Wilson,  mar- 
ried John  Thomas,  storekeeper,  at  Hartley,  moved  to  Beaver ; 
Thomas  Wilson,  of  Beaver,  who  died  6th  July,  i860,  aged  eighty- 
21 


322  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1800. 

five  years;  Colonel  Joseph  H.  Wilson,  of  the  one  hundred  and  first 
Pennsylvania,  who  died  near  White  House,  Virginia,  July  ii,  1862, 
was  his  son.  He  had  been  district  attorney  of  Beaver  county,  and  a 
member  of  the  Legislature.  Thomas  Wilson  left  ten  children,  resid- 
ing in  Beaver  county. 


1800. 


Inhabitants  of  New  Berlin  and  Lewisburg — Sketches  of  the  NoRTHrii- 

BERLAND  CoUNTY  BaR DaNIEL  SmITH,  EvAN  RiCE  EvANS,  ChARLES  HaLL, 

&c. 


OVERNOR,  Thomas  McKean.  Members,  Simon  Snyder, 

Jacob  Fulmer.     September  24,  Daniel  Levy,  Esquire, 

commissioned  Prothonotary,  (S:c.,  vice  Jasj>er   Ewing, 

deceased.  October  23,  Henry  Vanderslice  commissioned 

Sheriff.    Brigade  Inspector,  Frederick  Lazarus. 

List  of  Inhabitants  of  New  Berlin  in  1800. 

Beatty,  William ;  Beatty,  Hugh ;  Berger,  Philip,  potter  ;  Clark, 
John  ;  Cook,  James  ;  Gill,  Isaac  ;  Grove,  George,  saddler ;  Herman, 
Philip,  carpenter;  Myer,  George,  weaver;  Myer,  George,  tailor; 
Overmyer,  Philip;  Parks,  James,  Esquire,  store-keeper;  Rearick, 
William ;  Rethrow,  Jacob ;  Seebold,  Christopher ;  Smith,  Peter, 
sailor  ;  Spaight,  Adam  ;  Trester,  Martin,  carpenter ;  Wagoner,  An- 
drew, inn-keeper. 

List  of  Inhabitants  of  Lewisburg  in  1800. 

Albright,  Andrew,  inn-keeper;  Beatty,  John  ;  Black,  James;  Bole, 
Samuel,  weaver;  Byers,  Charles;  Clark,  George,  store-keeper; 
Dreisbach  Jacob ;    Endsworth,  Andrew,    saddler ;    Evans,  Joseph, 


1800. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  323 

joiner:  Fairchild,  Caleb,  blacksmith;  Grove,  Adam;  Kemmel, 
Lawrence,  tinsmith;  Knox,  George,  tanner;  Lawshe,  John,  tavern; 
Leisenring,  John,  potter ;  McLaughlin,  Hugh,  tailor ;  Metzgar, 
Daniel,  saddler;  Metzgar,  George,  hatter;  Metzgar,  John,  store- 
keeper; Miller,  Valentine;  Park,  Thomas,  tanner;  Pollock,  John,! 
store-keeper;  Pollock,  William,  tailor;  Reed,  Christian,  joiner;; 
Shaffer,  Mathias,  carpenter;  Shearer,  Richard,  store-keeper;  Spyker, 
Henry,  store-keeper ;  Stedman,  William,  inn-keeper,  Strickland, 
Timothy,  carpenter;  Troxel,  Abraham;  Wilson,  Hugh, store-keeper. 

List  of  Single  Freemen  in  East  Buffalo,  in  1800. 

Anderson,  Samuel;  Baker,  Jacob,  fuller;  Betzer,  Peter,  weaver; 
Bolender,  George  ;  Bracken,  James ;  Callahan,  Patrick  ;  Callahan, 
Philip  ;  Dale,  Samuel ;  Deratt,  Daniel ;  Dreisbach,  Martin ;  Finess, 
John  ;  Forster  John  ;  Forster,  William  ;  Frantz,  John,  cordwainer  ; 
Frantz,  Jacob,  weaver;  Frederick,  George;  Hafer,  Lewis;  Hartley, 
Thomas,  carpenter;  Hays,  Philip,  junior;  Hayes,  William;  Hayes, 
Patrick  ;  Keeth,  Andrew ;  McClay,  William ;  McClosky,  William  ; 
McQuhae,  William;  Markle,  John,  blacksmith;  Morton,  John;' 
Nickle,  John  ;  Pollock,  Edward ;  Price,  John,  store-keeper ;  Reedy ,1 
Conrad;  Russell,  Alexander;  Slater,  Peter;  Smith,  Benjamin; 
Spyker,  Peter  ;  Stahl,  John,  wheelwright ;  Thompson,  James ;  Ward, 
Thomas ;  Ward,  William ;  Wise,  John  ;  Wise,  Daniel ;  Wolf,  John  ; 
Yentzer,  Christian. 

Sketches  of  the  Northumberland  Bar,  by  Charles  Miner. 

"  Daniel  Smith,  Esquire,  a  tall,  delicate  looking  gentleman,  always 
elegantly  dressed.  He  turns  pale  and  actually  trembles  as  he  rises 
to  speak.  You  are  interested  by  such  exceeding  modesty,  and  half 
fear  he  will  not  be  able  to  go  on.  His  voice  breaks  sweetly  on  the 
ear,  and  words  of  persuasive  wisdom  begin  to  flow,  and  now  pour 
along  in  a  rapid  torrent.  Ah  !  that  is  eloquence."  He  graduated 
at  Princeton  in  1787. 

"  Evan  Rice  Evans,  a  heavy,  stout  gentleman,  with  a  large  head 
and  florid  cornplexion.  His  delivery  rapid  ;  his  words  crowd  upon 
each  other  as  sometimes  to  choke  utterance.  He  talks  good  sense. 
Why  should  he  not  ?     His  head  has  more  law  in  it  than  half  a  mod- 


324  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1800. 

ern  library.  He  is  a  powerful  advocate,  with  a  good  fee  and  an 
intricate  case."  He  died  in  iSii.  His  daughter  married  Hugh 
Brady,  Esquire,  son  of  William  P.,  of  Indiana  county. 

"Charles  Hall,  Esquire.  A  very  handsome  man.  His  dress  is 
rich,  ruffles  neatly  plaited.  Slow,  distinct,  and  very  pleasant  in 
speaking.  He  prepares  with  care,  and  argues  his  cause  with  excel- 
lent skill."  He  came  from  Lancaster  county.  His  wife  was  a  Cole- 
man, owning  a  great  estate,  still  called  the  Hall  farms,  above  Muncy. 

"  Honorable  Thomas  Cooper.  Short  round  figure,  stooping  for- 
ward \  has  a  florid,  high,  English  countenance  and  complexion. 
His  forte  is  to  seize  two  or  three  strong  points,  and  present  them 
forcibly  to  the  court  and  jury.  He  never  wearies  by  long  speeches  ; 
never  uses  a  word,  or  an  illustration,  or  an  argument  that  is  not  to 
the  purpose ;  a  man  of  extraordinary  endowments  and  of  most  dis- 
tinguished genius."  From  John  Binns'  Autobiography  I  take  some 
notices:  When  I  came  first  to  Northumberland,  September  i,  1802, 
there  then  resided  Doctor  Joseph  Priestly,  son,  and  family,  and 
Thomas  Cooper,  Esquire,  afterwards  president  judge  in  that  district, 
and  also  president  of  the  State  College  of  South  Carolina.  He  was 
fined  and  imprisoned  for  libel  on  President  John  Adams.  The  fine, 
with  interest,  was,  on  a  petition  of  Doctor  Cooper,  refunded  by  a 
vote  of  Congress,  many  years  afterwards,  I  think  when  General 
Jackson  was  President.  The  doctor  wielded  a  powerful  pen  in  favor 
of  the  general's  election,  and  he  was  a  man  who  rarely  forgot  to 
repay  both  partisans  and  opponents.  Before  Judge  Cooper  came 
to  this  country,  he  accompanied  Mr.  Watt,  of  steam  engine  memory, 
to  Paris,  and  they  took  their  seats  in  the  French  convention  as  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Manchester  Philosophical  Society.  In  1820, 
Doctor  Cooper  resided  in  Philadelphia,  as  professor  of  chemistry 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  member  of  a  club, 
with  John  Binns,  which  met  every  Monday  evening  at  each  other's 
houses.  While  here,  he  published  his  "  Jurisprudence,"  and  his 
edition  of  the  "  Institutes  of  Justinian."  Binns  says  the  first  breach 
in  their  club  was  made  by  the  removal  of  Doctor  Cooper  to  South 
Carolina.  His  extensive  knowledge,  wit,  and  good  humor  were 
sufficient  to  instruct  and  enliven  any  society.  His  literary  and 
scientific  knowledge  were  of  world-wide  fame.  His  reply  to 
"Burke's  Invective"  was  inferior  to  no  answer  that  was  published. 


1800.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  325 

It  took  rank  with  those  of  Paine  and  ^Mackintosh.  At  the  time  he 
was  printing  that  book,  WilUam  Y.  Birch  was  apprentice  to  the  pub- 
lisher. He  said,  when  Cooper  stepped  in  to  correct  the  proof,  the 
printer  would  say,  '-'We  want  more  copy,  sir,"  and  Cooper  would 
set  down  and  write  two  or  three  sheets,  and  hand  it  to  the  printer 
without  reading,  much  less  correcting.  He  had  a  heart  as  warm 
and  capacious  as  his  mind  was  richly  stored.  He  was  my  ardent 
and  faithful  friend  for  a  period  of  nearly  half  a  centiu-y.  I  have 
his  portrait,  taken  when  ninety  years  of  age.  He  was  a  chemist  of 
no  common  caliber  ;  admirable  in  compounding  sauces  and  gravies, 
and  enjoyed  them  very  much.  He  was  somewhat  of  a  gourmand, 
yet  he  was  never  idle,  and  lived  to  the  very  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
eight  or  ninety-nine,  cheerful  and  polite  to  his  last  days. 

INIiner  mentions  Daniel  Levy,  Thomas  Duncan,  and  Charles  Hus- 
ton, but  makes  no  particular  note  of  them.  Daniel  Levy  was  the 
surxnvor  of  these  old-style  lawyers,  who  always  dressed  in  broad- 
cloth, wore  queues,  gold  watch  seals,  and  were  eminently  dignified 
and  respectful. 

October  1 4.  Bishop  Newcomer  again  \isits  the  Valley.  •  •  Crossed 
the  West  Branch  at  Northumberland  with  a  great  deal  of  trouble, 
and  reached  the  house  of  Abraham  Eyerly  after  dark.  Next  day 
he  went  to  Brother  Aurand's,  where  a  great  many  people  had  col- 
lected and  he  and  Brother  Da\-id  Snyder  addressed  them.  On  i6th, 
preached  at  John  Rank's,  in  WTiite  Deer.  17th,  at  John  Baer's. 
1 8th,  sacrament  at  Martin  Dreisbach's;  rode  twenty  miles  through 
the  rain  to  get  there.  Held  cla^  meering,  and  had  a  happy  time. 
Text  on  Sunday,  19th,  •'•'For  the  time  is  come  when  judgment  must 
begin  at  the  house  of  God."  Preached  at  Mr.  Dreisbach's  in  the 
evening ;  next  day,  at  Mr.  Walter's,  and  at  night  at  a  poor  man's 
house,  on  Middle  creek." 

At  the  presidential  election  in  1800,  parties  were  clearly  defined 
under  the  names  of  Federalists  and  Democrats. 

Kimber  Barton,  who  lived  at  Mifflinburg,  was  assessor  of  United 
States  taxes.  The  tax  on  window  glass  was  very  unpKjpular.  The 
assessor  had  to  go  to  each  house  and  count  the  p)anes.  Before  he 
arrived,  some  people  went  to  the  trouble  of  taking  out  their  glass 
and  putting  in  paper.  John  Bower,  father  of  Thomas  Bower,  of 
Middleburg,  was  married  to  a  sister  of  Kimber  Barton. 


32b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1801. 

Deaths. 

Jasper  Ewing,  attorney-at-la\v,  and  late  prothonotary  of  the 
county,  died.  He  was  from  Lancaster  county.  His  library  he  left 
to  his  four  nieces,  daughters  of  General  Edward  Hand,  of  Lan- 
caster \  his  fees  to  his  nephews,  John  and  Jesse  Hand,  together  with 
his  gun,  fishing  rod,  and  gold  watch ;  his  cane  to  Charles  Hall,  Es- 
quire. 

He  was  adjutant  of  the  first  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Hand,  in 
July,  1776.  In  April,  1777,  when  Hand  was  promoted  brigadier, 
and  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Western  department,  Ewing 
went  with  him  to  Fort  Pitt,  as  brigade  major,  and  served  as  such 
during  the  years  1777-1778. 


1801. 


Rejoicing  at  Jefferson's  Election — Condition  of  the  Reformed  CiiURcn 
IN  the  Valley. 

EMBERS  of  Congress,  Andrew  Gregg  and  John  A. 
Hanna.  Senators,  Samuel  Maclay  and  James  Harris. 
Act  of  February  27,  reduced  the  number  to  one.  Mem- 
bers, Jacob  Fulmer,  Jesse  Moore,  Samuel  Dale,  and 
Simon  Snyder.  July  18,  William  Montgomery  appointed  Associate, 
vice  Thomas  Strawbridge,  resigned.  County  Commissioners,  John 
Metzgar,  John  Frick,  and  Abram  McKinney. 

February  27,  Apportionment  bill  allows  Northumberland  one 
Senator  and  four  members.  Taxables,  four  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  forty-four. 

Additional  Residents  of  East  Buffalo — Robinson,  William,  John 
Lawshe,. keeping  the  "  Pennsylvania  Arms,"  at  Lewisburg. 

Additions  to  White  Deer  Township — Clingan,  William,  Esquire  : 


1801.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  32-/ 

Cornelius,  James;   Espy,  John,  shoe-maker;  Hafer,  Lewis;  Iredell, 
Seth,  miller  at  White  Deer  mills;  Linn,  David;  Long,  Joseph;  Lutz, 
Jacob  ;  Lutz,  Samuel ;  McGinnes,  John  ;  McGinnes,  James ;  Marr, 
David;    Sarvey,    Christian;    Shuck,    Andrew;    Stillvvell,    Joseph;, 
Weikel,  George.  | 

George  Wilt,  of  Cumberland  county,  bought  the  Narrows  property 
of  Michael  Shirtz.  His  sons,  Adam  and  George,  came  up  and  built 
a  new  mill,  and  jointly  kept  the  hotel,  afterwards  kept  by  Roushs, 
Stitzers,  &c.  Adam  Wilt  and  John  Fisher,  who  formerly  lived  on 
Esquire  Lincoln's  place,  ran  arks  out  of  Penn's  creek,  from  1810  to 
1 81 8.  Adam  was  the  first  man  that  ran  Conewago  falls  with  an  ark, 
successfully.  Products  of  the  Valley  then  went  down  in  the  shape 
of  whisky,  linseed  oil,  «S:c. 

March  4,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Bethuel  Vincent's,  in  Milton,  to 
celebrate  the  inauguration  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Colonel  Kelly's 
toast  was :  "  May  this  be  the  happy  day  to  unite  the  hearts  of  all 
true  Americans  in  their  duty  to  God  and  our  illustrious  President." 
This  year  the  road  from  Jenkins'  mill  to  where  it  joins  the  Mififiin- 
burg  and  Lewisburg  road,  was  laid  out  by  Abraham  Eyerly  and 
Daniel  Rees. 

Richard  Sherer,  postmaster  at  Lewisburg,  advertises  that  the  Phila- 
delphia mail  arrived  at  Northumberland  every  Saturday  at  two,  p.  m., 
and  returned  on  Sunday  at  six,  a.  m. 

The  following  sketch,  taken  from  Doctor  Harbaugh's  Fathers,  re- 
lates, of  course,  to  the  Reformed  portion  of  Dreisbach  church  : 

The  Buffalo  church,  now  called  Dreisbach,  had,  for  some  time, 
been  in  a  very  distracted  condition,  having  the  irregular  attention 
of  the  irregular  Pfruemer,  called  Frommer,  but  was,  for  the  most 
part,  closed  entirely.  The  young  men  were  growing  up  without 
adequate  spiritual  instruction,  and  the  old  members  having  passed 
through  scenes  of  strife,  had  grown,  to  a  great  degree,  indifferent. 
Seeing,  however,  at  length,  that  religious  matters  were  tending  in  a 
bad  way,  they  awoke  and  saw  that  something  must  be  done.  Re- 
foniied  ministers  being  at  that  time  few,  and  difficult  to  be  secured, 
they  thought  they  saw  in  Deitrich  Aurand,  who  was  still  on  his 
farm,  a  man  who  could  be  useful  among  them  as  a  Reformed  minis- 
ter. About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1801  they  came  together, 
and  unanimously  and  very  cordially  agreed  to  call  upon  him  to 


328  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1801. 

preach  a  sermon  in  that  church,  which  he  consented  to  do.  The 
appointment  was  made.  The  day  arrived.  The  people  assembled 
in  great  numbers.  The  pews,  the  galleries,  the  isles,  the  doors,  the 
lower  windows,  and  even  the  grove  in  front  of  the  church  were 
crowded  with  listeners,  anxious  to  hear  the  new  preacher.  Some, 
no  doubt,  came  from  motives  of  curiosity,  but  the  greater  portion 
were  there  with  a  true  desire  to  hear  the  Gospel.  "  Never,"  says  an 
eye  witness,  "have  I  seen  a  multitude  so  eager  to  hear  the  words  of 
life."  The  sermon  ended,  he  came  down  from  the  pulpit,  and 
standing  in  the  altar,  he  was  soon  surrounded  by  the  "ancient  men" 
of  the  church,  who  earnestly  desired  him  to  make  another  appoint- 
ment. The  congregation,  having,  in  the  meantime,  stood  still,  he 
announced  that  he  would  preach  again  as  desired,  appointing  the 
time. 

The  second  sermon  was  attended  by  a  still  greater  multitude  of 
people,  some  coming  from  a  distance  of  ten  and  fifteen  miles.  The 
day  was  pleasant.  The  organ,  long  silent,  had  been  repaired  by  the 
skillful  hands  of  Mr.  John  Betz,  the  school-master,  and  was  made  to 
accompany  the  hymns  by  Stophel  Aupel.  The  theme  of  the  preacher 
was  the  astonishing  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  condescending  to  come 
into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  The  absolute  necessity  of  timel}- 
preparation  to  meet  death  was  earnestly  and  pathetically  urged  upon 
all  present.  Towards  the  conclusion,  different  classes  were  separately 
addressed  and  exhorted.  The  young  were  asked  how  the  hope  for 
a  blissful  eternity  stood  with  them?  and  they  were  entreated  to  seek 
the  Lord  early,  and  remember  their  Creator  in  the  days  of  their 
youth.  Then  the  preacher  turned  to  those  in  middle  life,  and  in 
words  of  melting  tenderness  and  burning  zeal,  were  they  warned 
against  delay,  and  urged  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Finally 
he  turned  to  the  aged,  among  whom  sat  his  own  venerable  father, 
crying  with  the  deepest  feeling,  Oh  !  you  who  are  hoary-headed,  how 
stands  the  matter  between  you  and  your  God  ?  You  stand  already 
with  one  foot  in  the  grave,  and  in  a  few  more  days  will  sink  into  it, 
and  have  no  more  any  portion  forever  in  all  that  is  done  under  the 
sun.  You  have,  through  a  long  life,  enjoyed  the  mercies  and  favors 
of  your  kind  Heavenly  Father.  Have  you  served  Him  with  full  sub- 
mission to  His  will,  and  loved  Him  supremely?  and  have  you  the 
assurance  that  you  are  reconciled  to  Him,  through  His  dear  Son 


J,801.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jzg 

Jesus  Christ  ?  If  so,  oh  !  then  it  will  be  well  with  you.  But,  if  this  has 
not  been  done,  oh  !  then,  I  now  entreat  you,  as  you  value  the  ever- 
lasting rest  and  peace  of  your  souls,  do  not  delay,  but  accept  the 
offers  of  mercy  in  Christ,  our  dear  Redeemer.  "  Such,"  says  one 
who  was  present,  "  was  the  spirit  and  substance,  and  such,  as  near 
as  I  can  recollect,  even  the  closing  words  of  this  never-to-be-forgotten 
sermon.  It  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me  as  a  .youth,  and  I  re- 
member distinctly  of  having  seen  his  own  father,  and  such  men  as 
the  Dreisbachs,  the  Dunkels,  the  Barnharts,  the  Betzs,  the  Good- 
mans, and  others,  bathed  in  tears.  " 

He  was  unanimously  elected  pastor,  and  the  congregation  of  New 
Berlin  joined  with  them  in  the  call,  which  he  agreed  to  accept.  He 
had  been  licensed  by  the  "  Brethren,"  but  was  not  yet  ordained  or 
even  licensed  by  the  Synod.  He  began,  however,  to  catechise  in 
the  Dreisbach  church,  and  large  numbers  attended,  whom  he  con- 
firmed, baptizing  such  as  had  not  been.  "  Never  since  that  day,  " 
says  an  aged  eye-witness,  "have  I  witnessed  such  solemnity  and 
strong  feeling  as  on  that  day  of  the  consecration  of  those  youth,  and 
the  next  day  at  communion." 

On  the  3d  of  May  the  Synod  met  at  York,  and  a  request  was 
made  by  the  congregations  of  Buffalo  Valley  and  New  Berlin  for  the 
examination  and  ordination  of  Mr.  Aurand.  The  matter,  however, 
was  deferred,  principally  at  his  own  request,  until  he  might  improve 
himself.  He,  however,  continued  to  preach  to  the  congregations  of 
Buffalo  Valley  and  New  Berlin,  until  his  removal  to  Huntingdon 
county,  in  October,  1804,  where  he  founded  the  congregation  of 
Water  street.  He  died  near  there,  on  the  24th  of  April,  1 831,  aged 
seventy  years  five  months  and  sixteen  days,  and  is  buried  in  front 
of  Zion's  church,  at  Water  street. 

November  1 1 ,  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison  regularly  dismissed  from 
the  Presbyterian  congregation  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads. 

Marriages. 

September  27,  by  William  Irwin,  Esquire,  Jacob  D.  Breyvogel, 
printer,  of  Sunbury,  to  Susanna  Baldy,  daughter  of  Colonel  Chris- 
topher Baldy,  of  Buffalo. 

November  19,  by  Reverend  Bryson,  William  Kirk,  of  Turbut,  to 


jjo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1801. 

Miss  Jane  Knox,  of  Lewisburg,  and  Daniel  Dreisbach,  merchant,  to 
Katy  Dreisbach,  both  of  Lewisburg.  "  Whosoever  findeth  a  good 
wife  findeth  a  good  thing,  and  obtaineth  favor  of  the  Lord." 

Deaths. 

Sunday,  September  20,  Colonel  Frederick  Antes,  of  Northumber- 
land, died  at  Lancaster,  buried  in  the  German  Reformed  church- 
yard. John  Thompson,  of  Buffalo,  died.  His  children,  James, 
Benjamin,  Rachel  Lincoln,  Susanna  Patterson,  and  .Sarah  Piper. 
John  Reznor,  West  Buffalo,  leaving  a  widow,  Rebecca,  and  chil- 
dren, John,  George,  Agnes,  «&c. 

November  4,  Mrs.  Jean  McClure,  buried  on  the  5th,  in  the  Pres- 
byterian yard,  Lewisburg.  Slie  left  fourteen  children,  one  hundred 
and  ten  grandchildren,  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  great-grand- 
children, and  four  great-great-grandchildren ;  total,  two  hundred 
and  seventy-six.  Thirty-six  of  them  attended  the  funeral.  She  was 
of  an  amiable,  benevolent,  and  friendly  disposition,  and  might  be 
called  a  true  christian. — Kennedy's  Gazette. 


T  ■'  ■'  11  II  j'ji'Lj.'  "  '»  "  "  *'  ''  i 


"^  ' ■  " "  "  '"  "   "  ■ '  "  ■ '  ' "  ■ "  -■  1  ■ »  '1 


180:^. 


Residents  ix  Freeburg,  Middlebcrg,  &c. — St.  Peter's  Church,  in 
Kelly,  and  Ray's  Church  Built — -Tabular  Statement  of  Election 
Returns — Death  of  Joseph  Green. 

[ENATOR,  SAMUEL  MACLAY  ;  elected  Speaker  of  the 
Senate,  December  7.  On  the  14th  of  December  he  was 
elected  United  States  Senator.  Members,  Jesse  Moore, 
Jacob  Fulmer,  Daniel  Montgomery,  and  Simon  Snyder. 
County  Treasurer,  Christopher  Dering.  County  Commissioner 
elect,  Flavel  Roan.     Andrew  Albright,  Postmaster,  Lewisburg. 

Hotels:  Adam  Wilt,  Narrows ;  Richard  Van  Buskirk,  Youngmans- 
town ;  C.  Baldy,  Cross-Roads ;  Isaac  Latshaw,  Lewisburg  ;  John 
Metzgar,  Andrew  Albright,  at  the  ferry. 


Residents  in  Straubstown,  or  Freeburg. 

Alspice,  Doctor  Henry ;  Felmly,  Jacob ;  Hackenberg,  Michael, 
joiner;  Long,  Peter;  Moore,  Andrew;  Moore,  Philip;  Myer,  Mi- 
chael ;  Myer,  Jacob,  son  of  Stephen ;  Myer,  George ;  Nagle,  John ; 
Reigert,  Paul ;  Roush,  John,  tan-yard ;  Rupert,  John ;  Schock, 
Jacob;  Smith,  John,  weaver;  Straub,  George,  son  of  Peter;  Stump, 
Abraham ;  Weaver,  ISIichael. 

Swinefordstown — Aurand,  John,  joiner ;  Epler,  John ;  Fry, 
David,  shoe-maker;  Fry,  Jacob,  senior ;  Kennel,  Mark;  Lechner, 
Jacob,  inn-keeper;  Leist,  David;  Mertz,  Isaac;  Mussina^  Zacha- 
rias ;  Nelson,  John  ;  Smith,  Martin,  cooper ;  Smith,  Robert ;  Spade, 

331 


332  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1802. 

George ;  Spade,  David ;  Swineford,  George  ;  Weller,  John ;  Wiant, 
Michael;  Wittemyer,  Michael,  clock-maker. 

Selinsgrove  and  Weisertown — Clymer,  Isaac;  Drum,  Charles; 
Dusing,  John;  Etzvveiler,  George;  Fisher,  Peter;  Four,  Joseph, 
weaver;  Gaughler,  Nicholas;  Gemberling,  Charles;  Gettig,  Fred- 
erick; Good,  Adam;  Hegins,  Charles,  tavern;  Hughes,  Widow  ; 
Kemerer,  Christian ;  Krider,  Isaac  ;  Laudenslager,  Valentine,  tavern; 
Meyer,  Widow;  Mewhorter,  Henry,  tanner;  Myer,  Jacob;  New- 
mauer,  Michael ;  Oberdorf,  Henry ;  Price,  Thomas  ;  Rhoads,  Fran- 
cis; Rhoads,  Henry;  Rhoads,  Daniel;  Reim,  Nicholas ;  Robins, 
Alexander,  tailor;  Roop,  George;  Silverwood,  James;  Snyder, 
Simon ;  Tryon,  Frederick ;  Ulrick,  George. 

Mahantango  Township — Bergstresser,  John,  millwright ;  Christ, 
Valentine  ;  Derstein,  Michael ;  Gordon,  Willis  ;  Hagerty,  Robert ; 
Heimback,  George  and  Jacob  ;  Holtzapple,  Widow  ;  Light,  Adam  ; 
Richter,  Widow;  Richter,  John;  Stees,  Frederick,  adds  fuUing- 
mill  and  smith  shop  ;  Walter,  Conrad. 

Additional  Residents  in  East  Buffalo — Barbin,  Joseph;  Bellman, 
Henry;  Benner,  John;  Bickle,  Leonard;  Billmyer,  Jacob ;  Bill- 
myer,  George ;  Brouse,  Peter ;  Cummings,  James ;  Coser,  Andrew  ; 
Dale,  James;  Dale,  Samuel,  junior;  Dreisbach,  John,  gunsmith; 
Dreisbach,  John,  carpenter ;  Elder^  Robert,  on  John  Kelly's  place ; 
Freeman,  Widow,  on  John  Wiggin's  place ;  Hull,  Thomas,  on 
Conrad  Reedy's  place ;  Irwin,  Andrew ;  Jodon,  James,  on  Andrew 
Struble's  place ;  Maclay,  William  P. ;  Maclay,  Charles ;  Markley, 
John,  junior;  Messinger,  John  ;  Reedy,  Andrew ;  Shoemaker,  Jacob ; 
Slough,  Christian ;  Tietsworth,  Jacob,  on  Simington's  place  ;  Wolfe, 
George  Wendell ;  Winegarden,  Peter  ;  Young,  Abraham. 

Lewisburg — Brice,  John;  Donachy,  John,  weaver;  Franklin, 
Daniel;  Hartley,  Thomas,  carpenter;  McKinty,  Barney ;  Russell, 
David,  mason. 

New  Berlin — Himmelreich,  Peter;  Mussina,  Zacharias;  Rem- 
inger,  Peter,  shoe-maker ;  Speddy,  Jeremiah,  shoe-maker. 

White  Deer — Armstrong,  John,  on  Margaret  Blythe's  place ; 
Bayard,  Benjamin  ;  Blackeney,  John  ;  Bowers,  John  ;  Bowers,  Bar- 
bara, widow  ;  Criswell,  Joseph  ;  Espy,  John,  shoe-maker;  Lawshe, 
John,  still-house,  on  George  Derr's  place;  Marr,  David,  on  Riddle's 
place ;  Servey,  Christian  ;  Weikel,  George. 


1802.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jjj 

Lnprovements — John  Hoffman,  saw-mill;  Seth  Iredell,  three- 
story  stone  grist-mill,  Anthony  Morris  having  recovered  the  pro- 
perty of  the  Widow  Smith.  The  mill  had  two  pair  of  overshot 
wheels.  A  new  saw-mill  was  added,  stone  dwelling-house  and  barn 
were  on  the  premises,  and  an  excellent  shad  fishery. 

West  Buffalo — Baxter,  Robert;  Blunbaum,  Conrad;  Boop,  John; 
Boop,  Davidson,  George  ;  William  ;  Deal,  Henry;  Deering,  Christo- 
pher ;  Englehart,  George ;  Gill,  Isaac,  on  Robert  Barber's  place  ; 
Gutelius,  Frederick,  cooper ;  Heise,  Solomon ;  Imhoof,  John ; 
Leberick,  George,  tanner ;  Shultz,  Daniel ;  Smith,  Melchior,  saw 
and  hemp-mill  on  Laurel  run ;  Spigelmoyer,  John.  The  stone  house 
on  Mather's  place,  in  Limestone  township,  built. 

Si.  Peter's  Church. 

The  church  known  as  St.  Peter's  Lutheran  church,  in  Kelly,  was 
built  upon  land  donated  by  Philip  Stahl.  Jacob  Lotz,  his  executor, 
by  deed,  dated  August  13,  1802,  recorded  at  Sunbury,  in  deed  book 
L,  pages  712-713,  conveys  to  Christian  Zerbe  and  George  Reininger 
seven  acres  and  ninety-one  perches,  in  Kelly  township,  in  trust  to 
and  for  the  use  of  building  or  erecting  a  school-house  and  a  German 
Lutheran  church  on  the  same,  and  for  a  burying-ground,  by  the  fol- 
lowing bounds  and  measures :  beginning  at  a  line  of  Henry  Neese  ; 
thence  S.  88°  W.  78,  to  a  post;  thence  S.  2°  E.  22,  to  a  post; 
thence  N.  80°  W.  80  perches,  to  a  post;  thence  N.  2°  W.  11,  to 
beginning. 

Ray's  Church. 

Ray's  church,  in  Lewis,  was  founded  by  a  gift  of  one  acre  of  land 
by  Mr.  Ray.  The  first  church  was  never  finished.  The  timbers 
furnished  seats  in  the  gallery  up  to  the  time  of  the  building  of  the 
new  church. 

September  24,  Bishop  Newcomer  again  visits  the  Valley,  preached 
in  Youngmanstown  and  at  Aurand's.  25th,  quarterly  meeting  com- 
menced at  Martin  Dreisbach's.  Brother  Kempt  preached  the  first 
discourse,  and  Brother  Farley,  a  Methodist,  spoke  in  English. 

Republican  standing  committee,  General  William  Montgomery, 


334 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


[1802. 


Henry  Vanderslice,  Simon  Snyder,  Robert  Giffen,  and  Christopher 
Baldy.  April  2,  Northumberland,  Lycoming,  and  Centre  made  a 
congressional  district.  September  16,  meeting  of  delegates  at  John 
Metzgar's,  in  Lewisburg,  John  Barber,  chairman.  Nominated  An- 
drew Gregg  for  Congress. 

Saturday,  i8th.  The  following  delegates  met  in  convention  at 
Lewisburg,  at  Metzgar's  hotel :  Augusta,  Charles  Maus ;  Shamokin, 
Jesse  Simpson ;  Point,  Robert  Irwin ;  Chillisquaque,  James  Straw- 
bridge ;  Mahoning,  Mathew  Collum ;  Penn's,  Charles  Drum;  Derry, 
George  Langs;  Turbut,  Bethuel  Vincent;  West  Buffalo,  John  Dreis- 
bach  ;  East  Buffalo,  Andrew  Albright ;  White  Deer,  Andrew  McLan- 
achan.  Thomas  McKean  nominated  for  Governor ;  Samuel  Maclay, 
for  Senator;  Jesse  Moore,  Jacob  Fulmer,  John  Bull,  and  Daniel 
Montgomery,  junior,  for  Assembly ;  Solomon  Markley  and  John 
Wilson  for  Commissioners. 


ELECTION  RETURNS,  1802. 


DISTRICTS. 


Siinbury, 

Northumberland,    .    .    . 

Buffiilo, 

West  Bulfiilo,       .... 

Berlin, 

Swineford, 

Bloom  and  Brier,     .     .     . 

Milton, 

Selinsgrove, 

Mahanoy, 

Washington, 

Catawissa, 

Mifflinburg, 

Beaver, 

Shamokin, 

Fishing  Creek  and  Green- 
wood,    


Total, 2674   221 '2746 


II 

GOV'MR.  I  CON 

II 


180 
133 
201 
194 
136 
119 
95 
347 
231 
139 
340 
66 
63 
130 
173 

96' 


26  189 
35,  152 


211 
210 
136: 

-  n  H 
20  114 

211 1  356 

9!  I  232 

2  140 

b'I  337 

63  100; 

65 

130 

150 

99 


SEN 

ASSEMBLY. 

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194 

200 

199 

180 

133 

12     87 

153 

140 

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65 

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209 

205 

15(i 

97 

143 

191        5 

210 

206 

203 

11 

74 

79 

9 

139 
129 
112 
352 
234 
140 
342 
111 
65 
130 
159 

96 


137  137 

112  121 

112  20 

366  323 

234  227 

134.  140 

341  3351 

118  125 

65  651 

130  130' 

172  127 


1 
1 

108 

350 

59 

74 

343 

125 

65 


136  138 


179 


106'  101  106 


111 

118 

102 

53 

36 

217 

152 

45 

101 

164 

20 

4 

3 

130 

129 

134 

65 

42 

1530 

1054 

111 

175 

41 

52 

159 

121 

62 

72 


1802.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  335 

For  this  schedule,  and  other  political  statistics,  I  am  indebted  to 
the  papers  of  Flavel  Roan,  carefully  preserved  by  the  late  Flavel 
Clingan,  of  Kelly,  his  nephew.  Flavel  Roan  was  general  scribe  for 
the  Valley,  clerked  at  the  election  meetings  of  return  judges,  wrote 
the  obituary  and  marriage  notices,  «S:c. 

On  settlement,  Frederick  Antes,  late  treasurer,  allowed  a  credit  of 
$15  ■^(i,  paid  for  hanging  Edward  Jones. 

December  22,  Samuel  Maclay  presides  at  the  trial  of  Judge  Alex- 
ander Addison. 

23d-24th,  a  fire  in  the  night  occurred  at  Nesbit's,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river.  It  was  noticed  by  Andrew  Albright.  The  night  was 
fearfully  cold,  and,  observing  no  one  stirring  at  the  house,  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  swam  him,  through  the  floating  ice,  across  the 
river,  awakened  the  family,  and  thus  saved  them  from  destruction. 
Barnaby  McMaster,  the  weaver,  lost  his  loom  and  all  he  had,  barely 
escaping  with  his  life  and  family. 

In  November,  Reverends  Messrs.  Graham  and  Moody  preached 
as  supplies  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  church. 

At  November  sessions,  a  road  was  laid  out  from  Milton,  by  way 
of  the  ferry  at  Orr's  or  John  Boal's,  (Miller's  place  now;)  thence 
through  Boal's  and  Heckle's  land,  crossing  Little  Buffalo  at  William 
Clingan's,  Buffalo  creek,  near  Chamberlin's  mill ;  thence  to  the 
Derrstown  and  Mifflinburg  road. 

Deaths. 

George  Frederick.  His  daughter,  Catherine,  was  Tobias  Sheck- 
ler's  wife. 

George  Ray,  of  West  Buffalo.  Children:  the  late  John  Ray, 
first  sheriff  of  Union  county,  George,  William,  Barbara,  Margaret, 
Sarah,  Nancy,  and  Catherine. 

Phoebe  Jenkins,  widow  of  James,  the  elder. 

William  Jordon,  White  Deer.  Left  widow,  Jane,  and  twelve  chil- 
dren :  Thomas,  Mary,  married  to  James  Hill,  Margaret,  Daniel, 
Andrew,  William,  Samuel,  James,  John,  Elizabeth,  George,  Jane. 

Edward  Tate,  of  West  Buffalo.  Children  :  Edward  and  Thomas. 
Hugh  Beatty  took  the  land  at  the  appraisement. 

Joseph  Green  died  in  the  spring  of  this  year.     He  was  a  promi- 


JJ^ 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1802. 


nent  citizen  of  the  Valley,  and  one  of  its  first  settlers.  He  resided 
first  where  Benjamin  Thompson,  junior,  lives,  east  of  Mifflinburg, 
then  built  the  mill  of  late  known  as  Bellas',  which  was  sold  from 
him.  He  then  removed  some  distance  up  Penn's  creek,  and  built  a 
saw-mill,  where  he  died.  He  was  buried  in  the  Lewis  grave-yard. 
His  first  wife's  name  was  Margaret,  and  his  second,  Mary.  He  was 
a  surveyor,  and  dealt  largely  in  lands.  Was  prominent  in  the  rev- 
olutionary struggle.  His  first  wife  died  in  1783,  and  in  1784  he 
married  a  widow,  Mary  Irvin.  His  children  were  :  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried to  Henry  Shively ;  her  daughters,  Margaret,  married  Jesse  Mat- 
thews ;  Elizabeth,  Ephraim  McMuUan  ;  Sarah,  Eli  Landis  ;  and  one 
was  married  to  Robert  Barber.  Alice  Green  married  James  McCoy. 
Joseph  Green's  sons  were  :  John,  Timothy,  Joseph,  William,  Tho- 
mas, George,  and  General  Abbot.  The  sons  all  went  West,  except 
General  Abbot.  John  went  to  Louisiana,  and  one  of  his  sons  was 
in  Congress  from  that  State,  some  years  ago.  Joseph  Green's  widow 
had  a  son,  James  Irvin. 


i§03. 


•Jenkins'  Mill  Road — Additional  Residents — Flavel  Roan's  Journal, 


AMUEL  MACLAY,  Speaker  of  the  Senate.     Simon  Sny- 
der, of  the  House.     March  i6,  Honorable  Samuel  Maclay 
resigned  the  office  of  Speaker  of  the  Senate.     County 
Commissioners,  Flavel  Roan,  David  Taggert,  and  Solo- 
mon Markley.     John  Frick,  Clerk.     Sheriff,  Andrew  Albright,  com- 
missioned October  24.    Thomas  Youngman,  Postmaster,  Mifflinburg. 
January  S.    Andrew  McClenachan,  justice  for  White  Deer  and 
Washington. 

Road  from  Jenkins'  mill  to  Michael  Sn-uth's,  (first  house  east  of 
Farley's  now,)  in  East  Buffalo,  laid  out. 

Additional  Residents  of  White  Deer — Anderson,  Samuel,  (miller;) 
Baker,  Michael ;  Candor,  Josiah ;  Hayes,  John,  justice ;  Mole, 
Christopher  ;  Musser,  Joseph,  from  Strasburg,  Lancaster  county,  in 
place  of  Walter  Clark,  who  moved  to  the  western  part  of  the  State  ; 
Spotts,  Peter ;   Steens,  Ephraim ;   Wallace,  William. 

West  Buffalo — Bliler,  Michael ;  Brown,  Christian ;  Clark,  Aaron ; 
Gable,  Jacob;  Getgen,  Adam;  Larrabee,  Doctor  John;  Roush, 
George;   Rudy,  xAbraham;  Withington,  Peter,  junior. 

Additional  Residents^  East  Buffalo — Cooper,  Daniel ;  Epler, 
John,  (miller;)  Grier,  David,  on  Reverend  H.  Morrison's  land; 
Hinely,  John  ;  Housel,  Joshua  ;  Kaufman,  John ;  Kessler,  George ; 
Musser,  Jacob,  on  Thomas  Wilson's  farm ;  Nyhart,  David ;  Reber 
John  ;  Ritter,  Philip  ;  Simington,  Thomas  ;  Slear,  Charles  ;  Stearns, 
John. 

22  337 


338  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  ^  [1803. 

Lewisburg — Ely,  John  ;  Gucker,  George  ;  Moore,  John,  black- 
smith. 

New  Berlin — Hackenberg,  Peter  ;  Haughawaut,  Leffard  ;  Lucas. 
Robert ;  Solomon,  John  ;  Spyker,  Daniel. 

Candidates  for  Assembly — Simon  Snyder,  Robert  Giffen,  Leonard 
Rupert,  Jacob  Fulmer,  John  Bull,  M.  Withington,  James  Forster, 
Jacob  Haller,  Joseph  Hutchinson,  William  Stedman,  James  Laird, 
Richard  Sherer.  Simon  Snyder,  (who  received  3,187  votes,  nearly 
every  vote  polled,)  Robert  Giffen,  Leonard  Rupert,  and  Colonel 
John  Bull  were  elected. 

flavel  Roan's  Journal. 

In  order  to  have  a  picture  of  the  social  enjoyments  and  domestic 
events,  I  will  quote  from  Flavel  Roan's  diary,  still  extant,  at  Mr. 
Flavel  Clingan's.  It  is  complete  for  the  year  1803.,  commences 
again  with  1807,  and  extends  to  the  close  of  1813.  It  is  as  beautiful 
as  copper-plate  engraving,  and  the  letters  are  so  small  it  requires  a 
magnifying  glass  to  read.  He  made  accurate  observations  of  the 
weather  three  times  a  day.     It  is  said  he  wrote  with  a  crow-quill. 

jSIonday,  3d.  I  taught  school  in  Derrstown.  Eighteen  scholars. 
Went  in  the  evening  with  William  Hayes  and  William  Wallace  to 
Mrs.  Williams',  where  we  had  a  social  hop.  4th.  Spent  the  evening 
at  Andrew  Albright's,  where  upwards  of  sixty  children  held  a  ball. 
About  forty  spectators.  Some  of  the  parents  well  pleased  with  the 
acting  of  their  children.  6th.  Spent  the  evening  at  widow  Mary  Har- 
ris' with  the  Wilson  and  Hayes  families,  and  had  a  social  hop.  7th. 
Posting  books  for  John  Dreisbach's  lottery,  nth.  Attended  a  social 
hop  at  Hugh  McLaughlin's.  William  Hayes,  Miss  Mussers,  and  Mr. 
Black  there.  January  13.  Ball  at  Colonel  Baldy's,  Cross-Roads. 
26th.  Spent  evening  at  Musser's.     Fifteen  persons  present. 

February  i.  John  Foster  came  down  from  Penn's  valley,  and 
wanted  a  ball  gotten  up  at  the  stone  house ;  spoke  to  Edward  Morton 
to  be  manager.  3d.  The  ball  came  off;  over  one  hundred  persons 
attended.  6th,  Sunday.  Mr.  Graham  preached  :  text,  Luke  xviii :  i. 
N.  B. — I  make  it  an  established  rule  to  put  up  at  Baldy's.  8th.  Met 
Mr.  Graham,  Billy  Maclay,  and  others  at  Hugh  Wilson's.  14th. 
Spent  the  evening  socially,  at  Mrs.  Harris',  with  twenty   others. 


1803.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  339 

1 8th.  Shearer,  McClure,  and  Fruit  returned  with  their  wagons  from 
Philadelphia;  away  above  three  weeks.  21st.  Mrs.  Stedmari  died. 
Sun  eclipsed.  Harris  and  Wilson's  families  had  a  social  hop  at 
Hugh  Wilson's.  25th.  Ball  at  Colonel  Baldy's.  28th.  Frolic  at 
Billy  Poak's  to-night. 

Tuesday,  i.  March  comes  in  like  a  lion.  Thinking  about  Billy 
Poak's.  3d.  Breakfasted  at  George  Clark's,  with  McCord,  Dale, 
James  Dunlap,  and  Mrs.  Young.  Taggart  called  with  a  petition  to 
sell  the  old  jail.  6th.  Mrs.  McLanachan  buried.  8th.  At  L's  in  the 
evening ;  about  twenty  playing  cards  there.  9th.  With  Squire  Kelly, 
Hayes,  Gray,  Clarke,  and  Colonel  Baldy,  at  Billy  Poak's.  loth. 
Quit  school-keeping,  and  moved  my  things  to  Caleb  Fairchild's. 
nth.  William  Brady's  barn  burned;  seven  horses  and  two  cows 
burned.  Spent  the  evening  with  Foster's  girls,  at  Dunlap's.  James 
Thompson  came  there  in  the  evening.  13th.  Richard  Sherer's  wife 
had  another  daughter.  Mr.  Jackson  preached  at  Buffalo  Cross- 
Roads.  15th.  John  W.  Clark  very  sick.  I  went  down  for  the  doc- 
tor ;  not  at  home  ;  he  and  Mr.  Jackson  at  Stedman's.  Stayed  until 
all  was  blue  ;   good  company. 

Deaths. 

James  Jenkins,  of  East  Buffalo,  aged  forty,  buried  at  Northumber- 
land, father  of  Miss  Harriet,  still  living  at  Northumberland.  He  left 
a  widow,  Sarah.  Children  :  Thomas  S.,  Mary,  Sarah,  Harriet,  and 
Elizabeth. 


i8o4. 


Contemporary  Xotices  of  the  People  of  the  Valley — Henry  Spyker's 
Form  of  Writing  Their  Wills — Doctor  Joseph  Priestly — Colonel 
William  Cooke. 

ACOB  FULMER,  Senator;  Speaker  of  the  House,  Simon 
Snyder.  Sheriff,  Andrew  Albright.  County  Commis- 
sioner, George  Bright. 

East  Buffalo,  Additional  Residents — Brown,  John ; 
Bucher,  John,  ferry  ;  Dimpsey,  James ;  Frederick,  Jacob  ;  Gibbons, 
WilUam  ;  Hill,  Daniel ;  Kremer,  Frederick  ;  Lloyd,  John  ;  Pan- 
coast,  William ;  Reichly,  Conrad ;  Renner,  Frederick ;  Shock, 
Peter;  Swinehart,  Henry;  Wormly,  Geo-rge.  Single  men:  Lin- 
coln, John  ;   Machamer,  Daniel ;   Morton,  Edward. 

White  Deer — Gillespie,  Edward  ;  High,  Jacob  ;  Laird,  William  ; 
Robb,  Eleanor  ;   Robb,  James,  blacksmith  ;  Smith,  Boyd. 

West  Buffalo — Gable,  Jacob  ;  Glasgow,  William  ;  Glover,  John, 
taxed  with  a  slave  ;  Jones,  Ezekiel ;  Miller,  John;  Mingle,  Andrew  ; 
Reeser,  William ;  Roush,  Jacob ;  Roush,  George  ;  Royer,  John, 
smith  ;  Spiegelmyer,  John,  junior  ;  Thomas,  William.  The  David 
Smith  mill  passed  into  the  hands  of  Robert  Barber,  Esquire.  Thomas 
Frederick,  who  had  been  of  the  rangers,  in  the  Revolution,  and 
whose  name  appears  on  the  tax-list  in  1782,  settled  originally  on  the 
Thomas  Paschall  tract,  (on  Laurel  run,  lately  owned  by  George  Fees,) 
where  he  built  a  saw-mill,  and  made  considerable  money  farming 
and  rafting  down  Penn's  creek.  He  sold  out  to  Ezekiel  Jones,  and 
moved  to  Ohio  this  year,  where  he  founded  the  town  of  Fredericks- 
burg, Wayne  county,  Ohio,  and  built  the  first  mill  there. 

340 


I 


1804.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  341 

Michael  Brown's  Recollections,  &c. 

John  Brown,  father  of  Abraham,  Michael,  &c.,  came  to  the  Valley 
this  spring  from  Pine  Grove  township,  Berks  county.  He  bought  the 
Andrew  Edge  warrantee,  (late  Michael  and  Christian  Brown,  Getz, 
&c.,)  of  Henry  Spyker,  for  ^8  per  acre.  There  was  then  an  old  log 
cabin  on  it,  in  which  Peter  Spyker,  son  of  Henry,  lived.  Michael 
Brown,  late  county  commissioner,  who  was  then  seven  years  old, 
stated  that  he  had  eight  children  when  he  came,  John,  who  went 
to  Ohio ;  Elizabeth,  married  to  Simon  Christ,  moved  to  Ohio  ; 
Christena,  married  to  Philip  Frederick ;  Peter,  who  went  to  Ohio  ; 
Abraham,  lately  deceased  ;  William,  Christian,  Michael,  and  Jacob. 
Their  mother  died  in  1806,  the  father,  1838,  and  both  are  buried 
in  the  Dreisbach  grave-yard.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
served  in  the  Revolution,  was  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  His 
father  came  from  Germany.  Our  neighbors  were  Lorentz  Barn- 
hart,  who  lived  where  Peter  Getz  lives  ;  Kreighbaum,  at  David 
Schrack's ;  Christopher  Weiser  had  a  fulling-mill  where  Peter  Wolfe 
now  lives ;  Henry  Poeth,  father  of  old  Henry,  late  of  Lewisburg, 
was  the  sole  inhabitant  of  Smoketown,  which  was  a  part  of  Spyker's 
land.  He  made  there  all  the  brick  that  were  used  in  Lewisburg. 
Edward  Morton  lived  where  A.  Frederick's  barn  now  is ;  Bailey  on 
R.  Laird's  place ;  John  Zellers,  where  Samuel  lately  lived  ;  John 
Aurand,  on  the  Aurand  place,  now  owned  by  John  Zellers ;  Chris- 
tian Gundy  lived  where  John  W.  Brown  now  lives.  From  our 
place  to  Derrstown  only  ten  acres  were  cleared  where  George  Wolfe 
now  lives.  The  road  commenced  at  Spyker's,  (now  James  S. 
Marsh's,)  at  the  river,  passed  through  part  of  the  cemetery,  the  lane 
at  Chamberlin's,  came  out  at  George  Wolfe's,  passed  through  Smoke - 
town,  skirted  the  ridge  at  Ellis  Brown's  and  along  by  Morton's, 
(Schrack's  now,)  crossed  the  present  pike  above  Beale's  tavern ; 
that,  with  the  road  to  the  cross-roads  and  the  one  up  along  the  river, 
were  the  only  three  roads  I  recollect  of.  Jacob  Musser  lived  on 
Meixell's  place.  The  streets  in  Lewisburg  were  laid  out,  but  the 
lots  not  fenced  in.  Black  had  a  ferry  near  the  dam.  Valentine 
Miller  was  the  undertaker  of  that  day.  John  Beeber,  lately  living  at 
Lewisburg,  told  me  he  came  with  his  father  this  year  to  get  a  wagon 
at  Jacob  Stahl's,  near  the  Union  church.     He  was  the  wagon-maker 


342  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1804. 

of  the  day.  People  came  from  Muncy  and  all  around  the  country 
to  get  wagons  made  by  him.  He  said,  also,  the  locusts  were  so 
plenty,  that  while  riding  along  with  his  father  above  Milton,  they 
made  so  much  noise  he  could  not  hear  what  his  father  said.  At 
Miller's  place  they  crossed  the  ferry ;  were  polled  over  by  two  of 
George  Hoffman's  daughters.  Ernhart,  at  Mifflinburg,  ironed  their 
wagon.  John  Stahl  had  one  son,  Enos,  and  a  daughter,  Salome, 
married  David  Herbst.  Charles  Hall,  Esquire,  built  the  stone  house 
and  barn  now  owned  by  Martin  Rishel's  heirs.  Daniel  Shappell 
moved  into  the  house  as  tenant. 

June  2  2,  fast  day.  Mr.  Bryson  lectured  in  the  morning.  Mr. 
Dunham  preached  in  the  evening. 

On  26th  of  July,  Mr.  Hood  arrived.  He  introduced  Watts'  ver- 
sion of  the  Psalms.  Members  were  offended  on  that  account,  and 
whether  he  would  accept  the  call  or  not  was  doubtful.  Reverend 
Mr.  Morrison  died  September  13,  and  in  December  Mr.  Hood 
again  visited  the  congregation,  and  it  was  understood  that  he  would 
accept  the  call. 

In  December  there  was  great  rejoicing  over  the  election  of  Presi- 
dent Jefferson.  Maclay's  boys  went  to  Derrstown,  where  they  had 
large  bonfires,  fired  cannon,  and  burned  up  their  hats.  Old  Judge 
Wilson  and  Nathan  Stockdon  took  the  back  road  home  by  Baldy's, 
at  the  cross-roads.  Their  dearborn  was  loaded  with  china  and 
crockery.  Getting  a  little  too  much  cider  oil  on,  they  upset  at  the 
little  bridge,  a  few  rods  east  of  the  hotel.  The  broken  china  and 
crockery  laid  there  for  years  after. 

Abel  Owen  lived  near  Rengler's.  He  was  a  lame  man,  but  could 
whip  any  man  in  the  Valley,  so  it  was  said. 

John  Betz  kept  school  at  the  Dreisbach  church  school-house.  He 
and  wife  were  celebrated  as  a  very  handsome  couple. 

f^arrlages. 

March  27,  by  Reverend  John  Patterson,  William  Thompson  to 
Susan,  daughter  of  John  Linn. 

Deaihs. 
Knowing  something  by  tradition  of  the  prominent  characters  of  these 


1804.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  343 

times,  the  highly  pious  strains  in  their  dying  testimonies  somewhat 
startled  me.  On  examination,  however,  I  found  they  were  all  writ- 
ten by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  and  from  the  mouths  of  all,  saints 
and  sinners,  flowed  his  churchly  rlietoric :  "  I  commend  my  soul 
into  the  hands  of  God,  hoping,  through  the  merits  of  my  Saviour's 
sacrifice,  for  the  remission  of  my  sins  and  a  happy  admission  into 
heaven." 

February  6,  Doctor  Joseph  Priestly,  aged  seventy-one.  Epitaph  : 
"  Return  unto  thy  rest,  oh  my  soul,  for  tlie  Lord  hath  dealt  bounti- 
fully with  thee.  I  will  lay  me  down  in  peace,  and  sleep  until  I 
awike  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection."  His  remains  were  re- 
moved to  the  new  cemetery,  near  Northumberland,  a  few  years 
since.  Binns,  in  his  Autobiography,  says  Doctor  Priestly  published 
nearly  one  hundred  moderate  sized  octavo  volumes,  on  a  great 
variety  of  subjects.  He  had  an  extensive  library  and  chemical  labo- 
ratory. He  rose  early,  retired  at  ten,  p.  m.  He  slept  on  a  cot  in  his 
library.  (His  wife  died  September  11,  1796,  aged  fifty-five.)  He 
played  chess  and  back-gammon,  a  few  games  nearly  every  day.  Some 
time  before  his  death,  when  he  was  very  ill,  I  occasionally  sat  with 
him  during  the  night,  in  a  large  arm  chair  by  his  cot.  He  was  then 
writing  and  I  was  publishing  his  '' History  of  the  Christian  Church," 
in  six  volumes.  The  fourth  or  fifth  volume  was  printed.  "I 
should,"  said  he,  "  have  been  gratified  if  it  had  pleased  God  to  spare 
me  to  finish  my  History  of  the  Church.  I  should  have  nothing 
more  on  earth  to  do  or  regret  at  leaving  undone."  He  recovered 
so  far  as  to  finish  and  correct  the  proof  of  his  history.  Some  months 
after,  when  very  feeble,  at  the  dead  hour  of  the  night,  he  asked  me 
if  I  had  recollected  what  he  said  about  the  history.  I  said  I  did. 
He  said  I  wished  to  remind  you  of  it,  and  to  say  that  I  have  now 
nothing  unfinished — nothing  that  I  feel  uneasy  about,  and  I  am 
ready  to  depart  when  I  am  called  hence.  Some  hours  after,  sur- 
rounded by  his  family,  he  departed.  On  his  death  bed  he  expressed 
himself  to  me,  in  substance,  as  follows:  "Reflecting  on  the  Divine 
love  of  the  Creator,  and  the  felicities  of  a  future  state,  I  have  thought 
that  when  the  immortal  portion  of  the  human  frame  should  be  called 
hence,  that  it  would  be  conveyed  to  a  region  of  blissful  enjoyment, 
proportioned  to  its  capacity  and  preparation,  there  to  remain  until, 
from  its  superior  opportunities  and  acquirements,  it  should  become 


344  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1804. 

■better  prepared  and  more  capable  of  yet  sublimer  and  more  spiritual 
enjoyments;  whence,  through  Divine  mercy  and  love,  it  would> 
from  time  to  time,  be  removed  from  one  region  of  bliss  to  a  higher, 
and  yet  a  higher,  until  it  should  attain  the  most  sublime  and  perfect 
state  of  felicity,  of  which  our  most  improved  nature  should  be  made 
susceptible ;  enjoyments  becoming  more  and  more  blissful  without 
end."  It  will  be  noticed  that  Binns  wrote  his  Autobiography  in 
1854,  and  asks  for  reasonable  allowance  for  the  errors  of  an  octo- 
genarian. He  continues :  "  Doctor  Priestly  told  me  he  had  written 
four  volumes  of  commentaries  on  the  laws  of  England,  which  were 
burned  by  the  "  church-and-king  "  mob  in  Birmingham,  1791  and 
1792." 

February,  Daniel  Rees  of  Buffalo. 

April  16.  Died  on  Monday  last,  (April  16,)  at  his  country  seat, 
adjoining  Harrisburg,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  William 
Maclay,  Esquire,  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State. 

April  —  Colonel  William  Cooke,  twelfth  Pennsylvania.  His 
children  were  John,  (father  of  Jacob  Cooke,  of  Muncy,  Robert,  of 
Howard,  Centre  county;)  Rebecca  Stedman;  Jane,  married  to  Wil- 
liam P.  Brady,  son  of  Captain  John;  Mary,  married  to  Robert 
Brady,  brother  of  the  former ;  Sarah  McClelland,  and  William, 
father  of  William  L.  Cooke,  of  Northumberland. 

May  8,  Margaret,  wife  of  Mathias  Alsbaugh,  born  May  27,  1759. 

June  5,  Thomas  Forster,  aged  fifty-eight.  (Major  in  the  Revolu- 
tion.) 

September  13,  Reverend  Hugh  Morrison,  aged  forty-eight.  His 
wife  died  in  April,  aged  forty-nine.  They  are  both  buried  in  the 
old  yard  at  Sunbury.  They  left  five  children  :  Mary  Ann,  who  after- 
wards married  Andrew  Hutchinson,  and  who  died  in  Lewisburg, 
October  18,  1868,  aged  eighty-two;  Isabella,  married  to  Isaac  B. 
Jones;  Eliza,  John,  and  Jane.  In  1822,  these  heirs  sold  their 
father's  place  in  Buffalo  to  Conrad  Dunkle,  whose  descendants  still 
own  it.  Eliza  willed  her  all  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  Lewis 
burg.  (I  saw  her  broken  tombstone  lying  about  the  church  not 
long  since.) 

September  27,  Honorable  Samuel  Dale,  aged  sixty-three,  and  lefl 
a  widow,  Eliza,  who  died  April  23,  1835.  Children  :  Judge  Samuel 
Dale,   of  Lancaster;    William  Dale,  Chillisquaque ;    James    Dale, 


J 


1805.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  345 

Esquire,  late  of  Lewisburg ;  Ann,  afterwards  married  to  John  Ma- 
clay  ;  Elizabeth,  afterwards  married  to  Aaron  Chamberlin ;  Marga- 
ret Simonton,  late  of  Lewisburg,  deceased.  In  his  will,  he  speaks 
of  the  black  girl,  "  Dinah,"  belonging  to  his  wife.  Dinah  was  liv- 
ing within  our  recollection. 

October  16,  Esther  Laughlin,  wife  of  Adam  Laughlin,  of  West 
Buffalo. 

Michael  Buttorf,  of  White  Deer. 

Peter  Swartz,  of  White  Deer. 

Eve  Iddings,  wife  of  William. 

John  Simpson,  former  register  and  recorder.  His  handwriting 
looks  like  copper-plate  engraving.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Jeremiah,  in  1798. 

Jacob  Dreisbach,  of  Buffalo. 

Jacob  Brunner,  of  West  Buffalo,  (now  Limestone.) 

Deitrich  Wertz,  of  White  Deer. 


A 


I805. 


Sudden  Adjournment  of  the  House  of  Representatives — Ordination  of 
Reverend  Thomas  Hood — First  Acadamy  built  at  Lewisburg — Duel 
between  John  Binns  and  Samuel  Stewart — Political  Parties  in 
1805. 


NITED  States  Senator,  Samuel  Maclay.  Member  of 
Congress,  Andrew  Gregg.  Speaker  of  the  House, 
Simon  Snyder.  Members  elected  in  October,  Robert 
Smith,  Leonard  Rupert,  John  Bull,  and  Abraham  Mc- 
Kinney.  Register  and  Recorder,  John  Boyd,  commissioned  De- 
cember 20. 

Christopher  Seebold,  commissioned  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  East 
Buffalo,  January  7. 


3^6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1805. 

Prices,  February  iS,  flour,  $ii  50  to  $12  per  barrel ;  wheat,  13^-. 
6//.,  and  will  keep  up,  as  a  war  between  England  and  Spain  is  almost 
certain  ;  Rye  is  ^s.  6d.  to  6s. ;  flax  seed,  9  to  91^. — Thomas  Stubbs, 
Middletown.  May  28,  flour  very  dull,  selling  from  wagons  on  the 
streets  at  $10  50,  at  $11  on  credit;  but  price  is  $11  50  to  $11  75. — 
G.  &  W.  G.  Latimer,  Philadelphia. 

A  road  was  laid  out  in  April,  from  the  west  line  of  Andrew  Bill- 
myer's,  by  Mary  Harris',  to  intersect  the  road  from  Derrstown  to 
Japhet  Morton's.  This  is  the  road  from  Kephart's  to  the  turnpike, 
past  W.  L.  Harris.'  Hugh  Wilson,  Daniel  Rees,  and  John  Brice 
were  the  viewers. 

For  a  singular  freak  of  a  Buffalo  Valley  boy,  I  quote  from  Binns' 
Autobiography  :  "  During  the  session  of  1804-5  ^  ^'^^  ^^  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Lancaster,  when  a  well-dressed 
young  man,  of  a  respectable  family  from  Northumberland  county, 
about  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  threw  open  the  inner  door,  and  en- 
tered the  body  of  the  House.  In  a  loud,  clear  and  distinct  voice  he 
said  :  '  Mr.  Speaker,  I  am  charged  by  the  Lord  God  with  a  message 
to  this  House,  to  direct  them  forthwith  to  pass  a  law  for  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  government  from  Lancaster  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Hill.' 
Many  of  the  members  called  out,  '  Turn  him  out.'  Instantly  the 
door-keeper  and  sergeant-at-arms,  both  elderly  men,  one  at  each  side, 
seized  the  intruder  by  the  collar  of  his  coat  to  eject  him  from  the 
House,  upon  which  he  tripped  up  their  heels,  and  left  them  both 
sprawling  on  the  floor.  A  motion  to  adjourn  was  promptly  made 
and  carried.  The  young  man,  who  was  laboring  under  insanity, 
remained  three  days  about  Lancaster,  then  started  for  home  on 
horseback.  It  is  said  and  believed  that  he  never  drew  bit  until  he 
arrived  home,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles.  In  a  few 
minutes  after  he  arrived,  the  horse  dropped  dead." — See  Roan's 
Journal,  May  20,  1809. 

Mr.  Hood  at  Buffalo. 

Mr.  Hood  preached  at  Buffalo  from  the  ist  of  April.  He  was 
ordained  on  the  2d  of  October.  Mr.  Stewart  preached  the  ordina- 
tion sermon  from  i  Corinthians  ix:  16  :  "  For  though  I  preach  the 
Gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  glory  of,"  &c.     Mr.  Bryson  gave  the 


1805.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  347 

charge  to  the  people.  Mr.  Hood's  first  sermon  after  was  from  Ro- 
mans V,  5  :  "  And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed."  In  which  he  showed 
the  nature  and  advantages  of  evangeUcal  hope,  and  the  amazing  dif- 
ference between  the  Hfe  of  the  behever  and  that  of  the  hypocrite. 
His  salary  was  fixed  at  $220  per  year.  In  May,  a  resolution  was 
passed  to  raise  it  to  $300,  but  not  carried  out,  as  in  1809-10-1 1-12 
he  was  still  paid  but  $220. 

September  5,  trustees  elect  of  Buffalo — George  Knox,  Gideon 
Smith,  Andrew  McClanachan,  James  McClellan,  Christopher  John- 
ston, Robert  Forster,  Adam  Laughlin,  and  Hugh  Wilson. 

Removals  out  of  the  bounds — Tenbrooke  Chamberlin,  John 
Clarke,  junior,  Joseph  Gilliland,  Thomas  Sutherland,  and  William 
Thompson,  junior. 

In  1805,  among  the  names  of  members  of  Dreisbach's  congrega- 
tion, occur  :  Barnhart,  Lorentz;  Heinly,  John  ;  Reber,  John;  Reedy, 
Andrew;  Ream,  George;  Spyker,  Peter;  Wormley,  George;  Zel- 
ler,  Benjamin  ;   Zeller,  John. 

The  log  cabin  academy  built  by  subscription.  It  occupied  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  parsonage  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Lewisburg. 

Doctor  Charles  Byers  was  the  principal  physician  of  Lewisburg  and 
vicinity. 

Binns  and  Stewart  Duel. 

The  duel  between  John  Binns  and  Samuel  Stewart  is  noteworthy 
as  being  one  of  the  last  fought  upon  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
on  account  of  the  prominence  of  the  actors,  having  special  influence 
in  causing  the  passage  of  the  act  of  31st  March,  1806.  The  duel 
was  fought  on  Sunday,  the  i6th  of  December.  Tradition  says 
Stewart  spent  the  night  before  at  Andrew  Albright's  tavern,  in 
Lewisburg.  I  extract  a  circumstantial  account  of  it  from  John 
Binns'  Autobiogaphy  : 

On  Saturday,  November  5,  1805,  while  I  was  in  the  public  ball 
alley,  at  Sunbury,  with  a  bat  in  my  hand,  tossing  a  ball  against  the 
wall,  waiting  for  Major  Charles  Maclay  to  play  a  game,  a  very  tall, 
stout  stranger  came  to  me,  and  said,  ''My  name  is  Sam  Stewart, 
of  Lycoming  county ;  your  name,  I  understand,  is  John  Binns,  and 
you  are  editor  of  the  Republican  Argus y  I  replied,  "  I  was."  "  I 
wish  to  know  who  is  the  author  of  the  letters  published  in  that  paper 


S48  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1805. 

signed  '  one  of  the  people.' "  "For  what  purpose,"  said  I.  He  re- 
plied, "There  are  remarks  in  one  of  them  which  reflect  on  my  char- 
acter, and  I  must  know  the  author."  I  declined  to  tell  him,  but 
said  if  there  was  anything  untrue  it  should  be  corrected.  He  was 
standing  on  my  left,  and  instantly  threw  his  left  arm  across  my  breast, 
and  with  it  held  both  my  arms  tight  above  the  elbows,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  threw  his  right  arm  across  the  back  of  my  head,  violently 
pushing  his  forefinger  into  the  corner  of  my  right  eye,  evidently 
with  the  intent  to  tear  it  out  of  my  head.  I  struck  him  with  the 
bat  with  all  my  strength,  when  he  left  go  his  hold,  seized  me  about 
the  waist,  and  endeavored  to  throw  me  down.  We  were  separated 
by  Major  Maclay  and  others,  who  came  into  the  alley.  In  his  effort 
to  gouge  out  my  eye,  he  left  a  scar  which  will  accompany  me  to  my 
grave.  The  ball  alley  was  attached  to  Henry  Shaffer's  hotel.  I 
went  into  the  hotel  and  wrote  a  note : 

SuNBURV,  November  2,  1805. 

After  threatening  me  like  a  bravo,  you  have  attacked  me  like  a 
ruffian.     Some  satisfaction  ought  to  be  rendered  for  such  conduct. 

If  you  have  the  spirit  and  courage  to  meet  me  as  a  gentleman, 
and  will  appoint  time  and  place,  and  meet  me  with  pistols,  accom- 
panied by  a  friend,  what  has  passed  shall  be  overlooked  by 

John  Binns. 

Samuel  Stewart,  Esquire. 

To  this  note  Mr.  Stewart  returned  a  verbal  answer,  "that  he  was 
going  to  the  city,  but  would  be  back  in  two  or  three  weeks." 

On  the  13th  of  December,  a  note  was  handed  me  by  Mr.  Andrew 
Kennedy,  printer  of  the  Northumberland  Gazette : 

Northumberland,  December  13,  1805. 

When  I  received  your  challenge  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  city,  and 
had  it  not  in  my  power  to  meet  you;  but  now  I  am  here,  ready  to 
see  you.  You  will,  therefore,  mention  the  time  and  place,  and  you 
will  have  it  in  your  power  to  try  my  spirits,  that  you  so  much 
doubted.     It  must  be  immediately.     Let  me  hear  from  you. 

Samuel  Stewart. 


I  replied  that  as  soon  as  I  could  get  Major  Maclay  here  I  would 
be  ready.  That  I  had  sent  for  him,  expected  him  that  evening,  and 
the  meeting  could  be  the  next  morning.     On  the  evening  of  the 


1805.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  .  34g 

13th,  a  friend  informed  me  that  application  had  been  made  to  a 
magistrate  for  a  warrant  of  arrest,  to  bind  me  over  to  keep  the 
peace.     I  immediately  wrote  a  note  : 

Saturday  Morning. 

Sir  : — I  have  just  heard  that  application  has  been  made  to  a  mag- 
istrate to  prevent  our  meeting.  I  write  to  request  that  you  will 
instantly  appoint  some  other  place,  say  Derrstown,  Milton,  or  any 
other  place  more  convenient  to  you,  where  my  friend  and  myself 
will  attend. 

I  then  wrapped  a  pair  of  pistols  in  my  overcoat  pocket,  walked 
about  half  a  mile  to  the  house  of  William  Bonham,  where  I  directed 
my  horse,  and  any  note  that  came,  should  be  forwarded.  Major 
Maclay  soon  arrived,  and,  after  giving  him  a  full  statement  of  the 
occurrences,  he  went  to  Northumberland  to  settle  the  time  and  place. 
While  we  talked  in  the  back  room,  fhe  constable  rapped  and  inquired 
if  I  was  in  the  house.  He  was  told  I  had  gone  up  the  road.  On 
Mr.  Maclay's  return,  he  told  me  the  meeting  was  to  be  at  seven 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  at  the  end  of  a  fence  behind  Lawshe's 
house,  opposite  Derrstown,  where  we  agreed  to  sleep  that  night. 

We  were  on  the  ground  at  seven  o'clock,  just  in  the  gray  of  the 
morning.  In  a  few  minutes  we  saw  Mr.  Stewart  and  Mr.  Kennedy 
coming  down  the  lane.  After  mutual  salutations,  Mr.  Maclay  pro- 
posed that  we  should  cross  the  swamp,  and  retire  to  a  more  private 
place,  where  the  ground  was  perfectly  clear.  Mr.  Kennedy  proposed 
that  the  parties  should  settle  the  distance.  I  objected,  that  being 
the  duty  of  the  seconds.  Mr.  Maclay  and  Kennedy  then  retired, 
and,  after  some  conversation,  stepped  eight  paces,  and  placed  Mr. 
Stewart  and  myself  at  the  extreme  ends  of  the  line.  Mr.  Maclay 
then  said,  "It  is  agreed  between  Mr.  Kennedy  and  myself  that 
if  either  of  the  parties  shall  leave  his  ground  before  the  affair  is 
entirely  settled,  such  party  shall  be  regarded  as  disgraced."  The 
seconds  then  retired  to  load  the  pistols.  Mr.  Maclay  told  me  after- 
wards that  he  at  this  time  suggested  to  Mr.  Kennedy  the  propriety 
of  an  effort  at  reconciliation.  Mr.  Kennedy  said  "  that  was  impos- 
sible, unless  Mr.  Binns  would  apologize  for  the  language  used  in  his 
message  to  Mr.  Stewart.  For  my  part,  I  think  nothing  should  be 
attempted  until  the  parties  have  at  least  interchanged  a  shot."  Ma- 
clay and  Kennedy  drew  near  to  us,  and  Maclay  said  :   "When  the 


j.jc>  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1805. 

word  '  fire'  is  given  you  are  to  fire  soon  as  you  can.  If  either  delay 
while  one  of  us  count  three,  and  say  'stop,'  that  one  shall,  for  that 
time,  lose  his  fire.     A  snap  to  be  considered  a  fire." 

The  seconds  tossed  up  to  determine  which  should  give  the  word. 
Maclay  won.  The  pistols  were  handed  us,  and  discharged  so  simul- 
taneously that  but  one  report  was  heard.  Neither  balls  took  effect. 
The  pistols  were  again  handed  to  the  seconds.  They  retired  a  few 
paces,  and  Mr.  Maclay  assured  me  afterwards  that  he  used  every 
honorable  argument  to  move  Mr.  Kennedy  to  present  a  proposition 
for  settlement.  This  he  did  without  effect.  Maclay  then  raised  his 
voice  and  said,  you  had  better  consult  your  principal,  and  I  will  do 
the  same.  Maclay's  first  words  to  me  were  :  ' '  Kennedy  is  a  scoun- 
drel; he  is  determined  to  have  you  shot."  I  said  :  "  you  know  the 
terms  we  agreed  upon,  and  we  will  carry  them  out."  The  pistols  were 
again  handed  to  us.  After  a  short  pause,  Mr.  Maclay  came  between 
us  and  said:  "  Gentlemen,  I  think  this  business  has  gone  far  enough, 
and  may  be  amicably  and  honorably  adjusted."  He  proposed  that 
Mr.  Stewart  should  apologize  for  his  attack,  and  that  then  Mr.  Binns 
should  declare  that  the  publication  was  not  made  to  wound  the  feel- 
ings of  Mr.  Stewart,  or  affect  his  character ;  but  because  Mr.  Binns 
believed  it  to  be  true,  and  that  it  was  matter  proper  for  public  in- 
formation. Mr.  Stewart  then  said:  "If  God  has  given  me  more 
strength  than  other  men,  I  do  not  think  I  ought  to  abuse  it.  I 
never  struck  a  man  in  my  life  that  I  was  not  sorry  for  it."  This 
was  not  held  sufficient  apology.  After  a  pause  Mr.  Stewart  made 
the  required  apology,  and  I  made  the  declaration  my  friend  pro- 
posed. The  parties  shook  hands,  and  at  a  tavern  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, they  and  their  friends  breakfasted  together.  Mr.  Stewar^ 
and  I  continued  friends  until  his  death,  many  years  afterward. 
When  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  from  Lycoming,  some  years 
after,  he  voted  for  me,  then  editor  of  the  Democratic  Press,  as  a 
director  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bank.  Major  Maclay  was  then  about 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and  a  man  of  much  promise.  Son  of 
Honorable  Samuel  Maclay,  at  that  time  a  United  States  Senator. 
He  returned  to  Buffalo  Valley ;  I  to  Northumberland.  He  died 
soon  after  this. 

I  found,  on  my  return,  that  it  was  Joseph  Priestly  that  had  the  war- 
rant issued  for  my  arrest.    He  saw  me  leave  with  a  small  mahogany 


1805.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  j^i 

case,  in  which  he  knew  Judge  Cooper  kept  his  pistols,  and  suspected 
what  was  about  to  take  place.  The  termination  of  this  business  put 
an  end  to  anything  like  personal  rudeness  by  any  member  of  the 
Federal  party,  so  long  as  I  remained  in  Northumberland,  atid  doubt- 
less had  its  effect  after  my  removal  to  Philadelphia. 

This  duel  was  fought  beyond  the  marsh,  near  what  was  then  called 
Allen's.  Andrew  Kennedy  was  the  father  of  the  late  Andrew  Ken- 
nedy, of  Lewisburg.  Lawshe's  hotel  was  below  the  dam,  nearly 
opposite  Strohecker's,  kept  by  John  Lawshe,  grandfather  of  A.  M. 
Lawshe.  Flavel  Roan,  in  his  journal,  carefully  notes  the  fact,  that  I 
he  always  took  a  drink  there  before  crossing  the  ferry  to  Derrstown. 
The  house  was  burned  down  some  years  ago.  Sara  Stewart,  as  he 
was  called,  was  sheriff  and  treasurer  of  Lycoming  county,  and  the 
Federal  candidate  for  Senator,  in  1808,  against  General  John  Bur- 
rows, the  Democratic  candidate. 

Political. 

July  10.  Extract  from  a  letter  of  James  Cochran,  of  Mead  town- 
ship, Crawford  county,  to  Robert  Irwin:  "On  the  call  for  a  con- 
vention to  amend  the  constitution  and  on  our  new  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor, the  people  are  much  divided ;  but  there  will  be  a  majority  in 
favor  of  the  convention  and  Simon  Snyder  in  this  county  and  many 
of  the  neighboring  counties.  From  every  appearance  the  majority 
will  be  considerable.  From  the  insolent  behavior  t)f  old  Tom, 
(Governor  Thomas  McKean,)  in  my  opinion,  he  merits  no  longer 
the  approbation  of  the  people,  not  only  from  his  impertinent  lan- 
guage, but  for  the  last  three  years  he  has  an  undoubted  right  to  be 
charged  with  wasting  his  Lord's  goods ;  therefore,  agreeably  to  St. 
Luke,  xvi:  3  v.,  he  has  a  right  to  either  dig  or  beg,  whichever  he 
thinks  he  can  do  best,  for  he  will  be  no  longer  steward.  The  "  Feds  " 
and  "Quids"  are  squealing  like  fell-hyenas  about  it,  and  fear  of 
being  drowned  before  they  see  the  water;  but  it  will  turn  out  like  all 
the  rest  of  their  hot-water  injections — they  will  burst  like  the  bubble, 
with  the  weight  of  their  own  air,  and  leave  them  a  blank  in  society, 
or  rather,  a  vestige  of  contempt  by  all  the  true  friends  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  seventy-six."  A  mingle  of  metaphors  not  often  found  in  so 
short  a  composition. 


JS2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1805. 

October  4,  the  Governor,  by  his  secretary,  WiUiam  Thompson, 
writes  from  Lancaster  to  Robert  Irwin  :  "  The  friends  of  Mr.  Sny- 
der have  circulated  in  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Berks,  that 
Governor  McKean  has  promised,  after  his  re-election,  to  appoint  Mr. 
James  Ross,  of  Pittsburg,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  court.  I  am 
authorized  to  assure  you  that  the  tale  is  wholly  a  falsehood,  fabri- 
cated on  the  eve  of  the  approaching  political  contest,  for  base  elec- 
tioneering purposes,  an  idea  of  the  kind  having  never  been  suggested 
to  the  Governor  by  any  friend  of  Mr.  Ross,  or  by  the  Governor  to 
any  person  whatever ;  nor,  indeed,  is  it  believed  Mr.  Ross  would 
accept  the  appointment  if  offered  to  him." 

In  order  that  my  readers  may  understand  the  allusions  in  the 
Cochran  letter,  I  will  state,  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  time,  that 
Governor  McKean  had  vetoed  an  act  substituting  referees  for  jury 
trials,  and  prohibiting  the  employment  of  counsel  in  reference  cases  : 
also,  the  act  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  justices  of  the  peace, 
which,  however,  was  passed  over  his  veto.  This,  with  the  acquittal 
of  the  judges  who  were  impeached,  incensed  the  ultra  Democrats, 
and  they  immediately  started  the  project  of  remodeling  the  Consti- 
tution. The  moderate  Democrats  took  the  name  of  Constitution- 
alists, and  organized  a  constitutional  society,  and  the  other  section 
of  Democrats  a  club  called  "The  Friends  of  the  People,"  the  Feder- 
alists looking  on,  and  enjoying  the  strife.  The  ultra  Democrats 
nominated  Snyder  for  Governor,  and  the  friends  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, McKeaH,  who  was  elected  Governor,  and  entered  upon  his 
third  term  on  the  17th  of  December. 

Marriages,  by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire. 

Peter  Epler  to  Eve  Christ.  Witnesses,  Henry  Fulmer,  Chris- 
tian Van  Gundy,  John  Smith  and  wife,  (S:c.,  (April  4.) 

September  8,  John  Lawshe  with  Polly  Sites.  Witnesses,  Nancy 
Robb,  John  Dreisbach,  &c. 

Deaths. 

George  Martin,  White  Deer.  Children :  Jane,  Elizabeth,  John, 
Robert,  and  Matthew.     January  15,  John  Swineford,  of  Middle- 


1806.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  353 

burg;  born  April  16,  1755.  Martin  Housel,  West  Buffalo.  Chil- 
dren :  Jacob,  Joshua,  Catherine,  Mary  and  Elizabeth.  September 
22,  Catherine,  wife  of  Abraham  Eyer  ;  born,  October  15,  17523 
married,  May,  1776.  Peter  Jodon,  of  West  Buffalo.  Captain 
George  Overmeier.  Children  :  George,  Peter,  Philip,  John,  David, 
Jacob,  Catherine,  (Margaret,  then  dead,)  EUzabeth,  Eve,  Esther, 
Magdalena,  and  Barbara.  To  Jacob  he  left  his  rifle  and  shot-pouch 
carried  in  the  Revolution.  Adam  Shewel,  of  Centre.  Jabel  Fred- 
erick, of  Buffalo.  George  Motz,  Penn's.  Children :  John,  Lo- 
rentz.  December  19,  Catherine  Dunkle.  She  was  born  February 
13,  1769;  married  October  24,  1784. 


1806. 


Additional  Residents  of  East  Buffalo,  Lewisburg,  White  Deer,  and 
West  Buffalo — First  Methodist  Camp-Meeting. 

HOMAS  COOPER,  President  Judge,  commissioned 
March  i.  Members,  Simon  Snyder,  Leonard  Rupert, 
Abraham  McKinney,  and  Major  Robert  Smith,  of  Tur- 
but.  David  Taggert,  Charles  Maclay,  and  Samuel  Awl, 
County  Commissioners.  ^  John  Frick,  Clerk.  April  i ,  John  Thomp- 
son, junior,  commissioned  Justice  of  the  Peace.  July  4,  William 
Poak.  John  Lynn,  of  Erie,  was  the  principal  School-Teacher  of  the 
Valley. 

Additional  Residents,  East  Buffalo — Ammon,  Andreas ;  Badorf, 
Michael,  blacksmith  ;  Bostian,  Andrew ;  Brown,  John,  miller  ;  Culp, 
Peter,  shoe-maker  3  Daugherty,  James ;  Geddes,  James,  single  ;  Gra- 
ham, Alexander,  merchant ;  Haverling,  Jacob,  weaver  ;  Hafer,  Lud- 
wig  3  Holmes,  Jonathan,  tanner;  McClure,  Richard,  chair-maker  3 
Marriner,  James  3  Mettlin,  Patrick  3  Morrow,  Alexander  3  Reem, 
23 


354  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1806. 

(jeorge,  carpenter ;  Reish,  Daniel  ;  Renner,  Jacob  ;  Renner,  Fred- 
erick; Strayhorn,  Nathaniel ;  Vaness,  John  ;  Winter,  Daniel,  car- 
penter. 

Lewisbiirg — Conser,  John ;  Crosgrove,  Samuel:  Kremer,  George; 
Renfrew,  Jacob ;   Wolfe,  Christian,  hatter. 

Additional  Residents  of  White  Deer — Clark,  John,  William's  son  ; 
Dersham,  Jacob ;  Farris,  Dennis  ;  Lushbaugh,  John  ;  Madden,  Neal, 
tailor;  Marshall,  James;  Monpeck,  Nicholas;  Reznor,  David;  Rora- 
baugh,  Philip ;  Schock,  Andrew,  wagon-maker. 

West  Buffalo — Aikey,  Lewis  ;  Betzer,  Peter  ;  Bohr,  Michael, 
miller;  Eilert,  John  ;  Green,  Abbot ;  Hildebrand,  Levi ;  Kaufman, 
David;  Kimple,  Jacob,  potter;  Kleckner,  John,  tavern  and  still- 
house;  Maize,  Jacob,  tavern ;  Mitchell,  George,  blacksmith  ;  Shri- 
ner,  Jacob ;  Zeller,  John ;  Zeller,  Henry. 

In  August,  the  first  Methodist  camp-meeting  in  this  part  of  the 
State  was  held  on  Chillisquaque  creek,  one  and  one  half  miles  from 
the  river. 

Marriages. 

January  2,  Ludwig  Coasin  with  Susanna  Olifant,  in  presence  of 
both  their  parents,  Joseph  Stillwell,  Thomas  Nesbit,  &c. 

April  7,  Frederick  Renner  with  Magdalena  Krause,  daughter  of 
Christian  Krause,  deceased,  in  presence  of  his  father,  and  step- 
motlier,  and  brothers,  Jacob  Renner  and  wife,  Benjamin  Renner, 
Daniel  Sheckler  and  wife. 

May  15,  George  Troxel  with  Mary  Hoffman,  in  presence  of  Wil- 
liam Clark  and  wife,  Doctor  James  Dougal,  Andrew  Heckle  and 
wife,  George  Derr  and  wife,  John  Betz  and  wife,  Andrew  Ensworth 
and  wife,  Abraham  Troxell  and  wife. 

June  12,  John  Sergeant  with  Catharine  Bej^er,  in  presence  of  her 
parents,  brother  James,  Peggy  Evans,  &c. 

November  16,  Michael  Straub  to  Sarah  Grove. 

Deaihs. 

John  Pollock,  Lewisburg.  Michael  Smith.  John  Graybill,  Ma- 
hantango.  William  Steele,  Buffalo.  Henry  Richard,  East  Buffalo. 
James  Adams,  White  Deer,  left  a  widow,  Margaret ;  children  :  Agnes, 
Joseph,  Sarah.  James  was  his  grandson,  and  son  of  Joseph.  Mary 
Green,  widow  of  Captain  Joseph  Green.    Henry  Myer,  West  Buffalo. 


i8o^. 


Penn's  Creek  Improvement  Lottery — Extracts  from  BrxNs'  Argus — 
County  Convention — German  High  School  in  Buffalo  Township — 
Roan's  Journal — John  Aurand — Character  of  the  Legal  Business 
AND  Sketches  of  Leading  Circuit  Lawyers,  by  late  George  A.  Snyder, 
Esquire. 

NITED  STATES  SENATORS,  Samuel  Maclay  and  An- 
drew Gregg,  the  latter  elected  January  13.  Member  of 
Congress,  Daniel  Montgomery,  junior.  Senator,  James 
Laird.  Speaker  House  of  Representatives,  Simon  Sny- 
der. Members  elected  in  October,  Simon  Snyder,  Leonard  Rupert, 
Abraham  McKinney,  and  John  Murray. 

Commissioner  elect,  Samuel  Bond.  Total  expenditures  of  the 
county  last  year,  $5,716.  Sheriff,  Jared  Irwin.  Treasurer,  Simon 
Snyder.     Postmaster  at  Lewisburg,  C.  Baldy. 

Additional  Residents  of  West  Buffalo — Harris,  Amos,  shoe- 
maker ;  Lytle,  Charles ;  Peters,  Philip,  tinner ;  Reed,  Robert  and 
William;  Ruhl,  Philip;  Stitzer,  John,  junior;  Stover,  John  and 
Samuel ;   Wilkert,  Jacob. 

Mifflinbiirg — Keener,  William,  tailor ;  Lemon,  Thomas,  school- 
master ;  Miller,  Doctor  ;  Smith,  Doctor ;  Swentzell,  Jacob ;  Year- 
ick,  Simon.  Andrew  Ensworthsold  his  property  and  removed  from 
the  Valley ;  also,  William  Irwin,  junior,  Robert  Harris,  and  Alex- 
ander Steel. 

In  White  Deer  new  Names  on  the  Assessment  List — Anthony, 
Henry ;  Anthony,  Nicholas,  shoe-maker ;  Billman,  John  and  Jo- 
siah;  Chamberlin,  Uriah;  Clingan,  Thomas;  Heckle,  George ; 
Huntingdon,  Simon  ;  McCorley,  Robert ;  Shaffer,  John  ;  Shamp, 
Jesse ;  Pancoast,  William,  blacksmith ;  Yocum,  Jesse. 

Additional  Residents  in  East  Buffalo — Beidleman,    Valentine, 

355 


jj6  .        ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1807. 

Daniel,  and  Jacob ;  Cochran,  John ;  Eagler,  Conrad,  shoe-maker ; 
Forsythe,  Samuel;  Hight,  Henry,  shoe-maker;  Hummel,  Christian, 
shoe-maker;  Jamison,  John ;  Linn,  Daniel,  miller  ;  Noll,  Henry  ; 
Trester,  George ;  Wagner  and  Kline,  grist-mill ;  Wallace,  Wil- 
liam; Wilson,  Charles;  Wommer,  Jacob. 

Lewisburg — Bellman,  George,  clock-maker. 

New  Berlin — Berger,  Jacob,  millwright ;  Miller,  Philip  ;  Shref- 
ler,  Henry  ;  Stain  or  Stem,  Doctor  Jacob. 

By  act  of  March  31,  Samuel  Templeton,  George  Long,  Robert 
Barber,  Peter  Fisher,  and  James  Duncan,  commissioners,  were  au- 
thorized to  raise  by  lottery  ^4,000,  for  the  improvement  of  Penn's 
creek,  from  the  mouth  of  Green's  saw-mill.  Robert  Barber  was 
appointed  treasurer,  and  in  October^  they  advertised  a  scheme  of 
cash  prizes,  amounting  to  $30,000  ;  nothing  came  of  it. 

April  10,  the  middle  district  of  the  supreme  court  was  created, 
and  Sunbury  fixed  for  the  place  of  holding  the  court,  on  the  first 
Monday  of  July. 

The  Political  Situation. 

Argus,  July  27,  "appointments  by  the  Governor:  William  Wil- 
son, major  general  of  the  ninth  division  ;  William  Hepburn,  of  the 
tenth.  Both  these  gentlemen  are  associate  judges,  and  thorough- 
paced Federalists.  Elections  by  the  people  :  Christopher  Baldy, 
brigadier  general  first  brigade,  a  Democrat,  by  a  large  majority. 
Colonel  John  Jones,  Alexander  Moore,  George  Weirick,  and  Thomas 
Youngman,  all  Democrats,  by  decided  majorities.  For  brigade  in- 
spector, Frederick  Evans,  435  to  80  for  Charles  Drum,  Quid." 

February  4,  Binns'  Argus  has  the  message  relative  to  Burr's  con- 
spiracy. The  lot  of  ground  on  which  the  old  jail  stood,  offered 
for  sale.  Binns  says,  at  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  of  Centre 
county,  held  last  week,  there  was  no  business  for  the  grand  jury, 
save  one  bill  for  keeping  a  tippling-house.  So  much  for  the  peace- 
able demeanor  of  one  of  the  most  Democratic  counties  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  thinks  Rankin's  vote  for  Gregg  for  United  States  Sena- 
tor will  prevent  his  return  as  representative  of  that  county..  "Hugh 
White  and  other  Federalists"  contested  the  election  of  Isaac  Smith, 
member  for  Lycoming;  but  Smith  was  declared  the  sitting  member. 


I 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  35J 

In  his  valedictory  he  says  he  has  sold  his  type,  fixtures,  and  rented 
his  house  and  office,  in  Northumberland,  to  Mathew  Huston,  by 
whom  the  Argus  will  be  conducted.  Mr.  Huston  is  clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  which  will  detain  him  at  Lancaster,  until 
the  ist  of  April.  Mr.  Huston  is  a  man  of  good  understanding,  and  . 
will  be  an  independent  editor.  In  politics,  he  is  a  decided  Demo- 
cratic Republican.  Has  been  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  served 
in  the  Legislature.  In  bidding  farewell  to  John  Binns'  paper,  I 
quote  one  of  his  saucy  items :  "  I  do  not  know  whether  Rudolph 
Spangler  was  or  was  not,  as  the  Lancaster  Journal  says,  at  a  cock- 
fight, for  a  whole  day.  If  he  was,  to  the  neglect  of  his  public  duty, 
he  was  to  blame ;  but  I  do  know  most  certainly  that  Timothy  Mat- 
lack,  the  master  of  rolls  of  this  State,  was  at  a  common  cock-fight, 
the  cheek-by-jowl  companion  of  negroes,  vagabonds,  and  spoils- 
men." 

June  3,  Mathew  Huston  issued  the  first  number  of  his  Argus,  and 
in  his  second  number  attacks  Governor  McKean  for  appointing  a 
number  of  Senators  to  lucrative  offices  before  their  terms  expired. 
Says  it  is  morally  certain  he  had  no  relatives  in  Pennsylvania  or  any 
quarter  of  the  globe,  who  might  be  imported  to  fill  those  offices. 

The  attack  of  the  Leopard,  on  the  Chespeake,  on  the  22d  of  June, 
brings  forth  a  fearful  editorial,  in  which  Great  Britian  is  styled  an 
"incurable  old  bawd,"  &c.  I  quote  some  of  the  toasts  at  the  4th 
of  July  celebration,  to  show  the  drift  of  politics.  At  Selinsgrove  : 
"Thomas  McKean — alas,  how  art  thou  fallen."  "  2d  Tuesday  of 
October,  1808 — may  it  give  us  a  farmer  for  Governor,  who  will  care 
more  for  the  people  than  for  the  dust  under  his  feet,  and  not  a  student 
of  morality,  whose  only  care  is  for  his  family,  lawyers,  and  sharpers." 
"The  besotted,  card-playing  general  and  the  golden  calf — may  they 
ever  be  haunted  with  trout  visions."  "The  Democratic  presses — 
the  nurses  of  political  virtue." 

At  Milton,  Captain  Thomas  Pollock,  president.  Doctor  James 
Dougal,  vice  president:  "Thomas  McKean — political  damnation 
to  all  political  hypocrites."  "Aaron  Burr,  the  treacherous  apostate 
Whig — may  the  portion  of  eternal  infamy  be  the  fate  of  every  trai- 
tor to  virtue,  liberty,  and  independence."  "The  American  fair — 
may  Columbia  boast  of  a  race  of  daughters,  amiable  and  beautiful, 
and  may  Hymen  join  them  to  Republican  merit."    Kennedy's  paper, 


358  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1807. 

May  19,  attacks  an  article  in  Binns'  paper,  as  smelling  strongly  of 
the  committee-room  at  Derrstovvn,  and  says  Esquire  Laird,  the 
State  Senator,  is  a  favorite  pupil  of  the  professors  at  the  political 
college  of  Derrstown,  and  hints  that  Tilghman  might  be  got  out  to 
run  against  Simon  Snyder  for  Governor.  The  Quids,  he  says,  talk 
of  Judge  Spade,  who  knows  no  more  of  politics  than  of  Arabic,  and 
who  may  possess  qualifications  for  the  place,  but  nobody  knows  it. 

Huston  on  Burr:  "  Burr  is  to  the  body-politic  like  an  emetic  to 
the  physical  body.  Since  he  has  got  into  operation,  the  body-poli- 
tic has  discharged  and  brought  into  view  a  huge  mass  of  swindlers, 
speculators,  sharpers,  jugglers,  jockies,  pettifoggers.  These  followers 
of  our  Cataline,  whom  he  collected  from  the  harlot's  stew,  the  gaming 
table,  and  the  wine-bibber's  shop,  must  appear  truly  pitiful  when 
they  slink  home  with  their  golden  prospects  blasted,  and  their  leader 
the  subject  of  scorn  and  contempt." 

James  Boyd's  toast  at  the  Danville  celebration  is  unique  :  "  The 
Quids — a  jackass  apiece  to  them,  and  a  snail's  horn  for  a  spur,  so 
that  each  mule  may  ride  his  own  ass."  Daniel  Montgomery  pre- 
sided at  this  meeting.  James  Laird  was  vice,  and  Andrew  Russell 
was  secretary.  The  names  are  given,  so  that  we  may  know  on  what 
side  in  politics  our  antecedents  were. 

July  13,  Governor  McKean  issued  a  general  order  for  a  draft  of 
the  militia  of  the  State,  in  prospect  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  to 
be  divided  into  two  grand  divisions,  of  which  Major  General  Thomas 
Craig  and  General  Joseph  Heister  were  appointed  commanders.  The 
quota  for  Northumberland  division  was  ten  hundred  and  forty.  The 
delegates  from  the  different  townships  to  the  meeting  held  at  Sunbury, 
on  the  1 8th  of  August,  to  express  the  sentiments  of  the  county,  in  ref- 
erence to  the  attack  upon  the  Chesapeake,  were  :  Sunbury,  Andrew 
Albright  and  John  Boyd ;  Buffalo,  Samuel  Maclay  and  Christopher 
Baldy ;  West  Buffalo,  George  Youngman  and  Henry  Gray ;  Centre, 
George  Weirick  and  Michael  Wittenmyer ;  Penn's,  Jacob  Lechner 
and  Daniel  Rhoads ;  Point,  Matthew  Huston  and  Andrew  Kennedy ; 
White  £)eer,  Seth  Iredell  and  William  Clark ;  Washington,  William 
Pollock,  &c.  Colonel  Robert  Clark,  of  Derry,  was  chosen  presi- 
dent. They  resolved  unanimously  to  support  the  Government  in 
such  measures  as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  obtain  satisfaction 
for  former  injuries  and  insults  committed  by  the  British  Govern- 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jsg 

meat,  and  security  against  such  aggressions  in  time  to  come.  The 
meeting  at  Sehnsgrove  to  appoint  delegates  to  this  meeting,  was 
presided  over  by  George  Holstein.  Committee  on  resolutions, 
Frederick  Evans,  Christian  Welker,  and  Daniel  Rohrer. 

By  an  order  of  Frederick  Evans,  it  appears  that  the  thirty-ninth 
regiment  (district  Buffalo  Valley)  was  to  furnish  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  men,  to  rendezvous  at  General  Baldy's,  on  the  24th  of 
September.  Seventy-seventh  regiment  draft,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  men,  to  meet  at  Swine  fords  town,  on  the  23d. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  the  Friends  of  the  people  of  Sun- 
bury,  held  at  the  public  buildings,  on  Saturday,  September  26,  and 
at  a  meeting  of  the  same  society  of  Point  township,  held  at  the  house 
of  David  Taggert,  on  Monday,  September  29,  resolutions  were 
passed  arraigning  Michael  Leib  at  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion^  for 
secretly  and  hypocritically  laboring  to  defeat  Simon  Snyder  in  1805  ; 
for  intriguing  with  the  Quids  to  bring  forward  Joseph  Hiester  for 
Governor.  These  proceedings  are  signed  by  Andrew  Albright,  presi- 
dent of  the  society  of  Sunbury  ;  David  Taggert,  at  Point. 

June  27.  John  Sierer  and  wife,  Susanna,  Christopher  Baldy  and 
wife,  Susanna,  conveyed  two  acres  and  one  hundred  and  ten  perches 
of  the  Henry  Sees  tract  to  John  Kaufman  and  John  Rengler,  trustees 
elect  of  a  German  high  school,  in  Buffalo  township,  to  be  erected  on 
said  premises,  and  kept  for  that  purpose  forever. 

Domestic  Incidents  taken  chiefly  from  F lave  I  Roan's  Journal. 

He  was  teaching  school  at  this  time  at  Jimmy  Wilson's  school- 
house,  near  where  Adam  Stahl  now  lives. 

January  i .  Citizen  Kremer  (afterward  Honorable  George)  called 
at  Clingan's,  (William  Clingan,  Esquire's.)  A  very  great  talker. 
Brought  sweetmeats  for  the  ladies.  5  th.  Roan  McClure's  youngsters 
and  Richards',  from  Derrstown,  at  Clingan's.  Amusements,  selling 
pawns,  shaving,  &c.,  until  after  twelve.  loth.  Citizen  Kremer  again 
at  Clingan's.  Has  a  great  memory,  and  likes  to  hear  himself  dis- 
course. 13th.  Clingan's  young  people  down  at  Roan  McClure's 
until  after  twelve.  24th.  Went  to  Sunbury,  crossing  on  the  ice.  Got 
a  hard  fall.  Stopped  at  James  Black's.  Agreeably  entertained  by 
Esquire  Buyers'  daughters  and  Mr.  Black's  young  people.      29th. 


3(>o  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY,  •  [1807. 

Young  people  at  Derrstown  singing-school.  Thirty  young  people 
at  Baldy's  singing. 

February  8,  Sunday.  The  ladies  would  not  sing,  because  Tommy 
raised  an  old  tune,  "  Isle  of  Wright."  9th.  Six  degrees  colder  than 
it  has  been  for  two  years,  by  Doctor  Dougal's  thermometer,  nth. 
Visitors  at  Clingan's,  Doctor  Dougal  and  lady,  Mrs.  Linn  and  rela- 
tives, Sister  Clark,  &c.  13th.  Ice  broke  in  Buffalo  creek,  and  carried 
off  the  bridge.  i7t.h.  Youngsters  went  to  Esquire  Kelly's.  2 2d. 
Youngsters  at  Dale's.  Returned  at  three,  a.  m.  25th.  Charles  Hall, 
Esquire,  and  lady  at  Clingan's,  and  Mrs.  David  Linn,  Esquire  Kel- 
ly's youngsters,  J.  Thompson's  youngsters,  Charlotte  Candor,  and 
Thomas  Howard  came.  All  went  over  to  Aunt  Dale's,  to  spend  the 
evening.  Kelly's  lads  very  sociable.  26th.  Esquire  McLanahan  and 
lady  at  C's.  I  think  the  Squire  will  run  for  Assembly.  27th.  Thomp- 
son's, Dale's,  Chamberlin's  youngsters,  Boyd  Smith,  Bella  Kelly, 
Charlotte  Candor,  spent  an  agreeable  evening  at  C's.  Went  away 
at  one,  a.  m. 

March  5.  Clingan's  youngsters,  with  Gideon  Smith  and  J.  Thomp- 
son, went  to  visit  at  Chamberlin's.  Returned  at  three  a.  m.  Citizen 
Kremer  here  again.  7th.  Roan  Clarke  at  C's.  He  is  making  great 
progress  at  knowledge  with  citizen  K.  Has  a  learned  book  with 
him,  puzzling  Tommy  and  George.  Roan's  route  to  Sunbury — cross 
at  Nesbit's  ferry,  drink  at  Lawshe's,  stop  to  see  Judge  Wilson  at  Chil- 
lisquaque,  leave  his  horse  at  D.  Taggert's,  and  walk  over  to  Sunbury. 
Return — stops  at  Dentler's,  Lawshe's,  Metzgar's,  Derrstown,  call  at 
Roan  McClure's,  sleeps  at  Giddy  Smith's.  17th.  Wilson  Smith  calls 
to  request  Clingans  to  spend  to-morrow  evening  at  Doctor  Vanval- 
zah's.  2 1  St.  Called  at  Poak's,  Metzgar's,  and  went  to  see  the  rope- 
dancing  at  Rees'.  23d.  Rope-dancing  at  Baldy's.  27th.  Went  to 
Hoffman's.  Had  a  talk  with  Tom  Iddings  about  Steel  being  an  officer. 
31st.  Snowed  all  day.     Snow  eighteen  inches  deep. 

April  4.  View  on  the  bridge  at  Derrstown.  Slept  at  Kremer's. 
Called  at  Metzgar's.  Went  down  to  Franklin's.  Saw  some  boats 
start  down  the  river.  Called  at  Doctor  Byers'.  Saw  Franklin's  leg  ; 
an  ugly  sight.  8th.  Snow  five  feet  deep  in  Jimmy  Wilson's  lane. 
loth.  Left  Clingan's,  stopped  at  Baldy's,  then  to  Youngmanstown, 
where  I  stopped  at  Van  Buskirk's.  Met  Esquire  Robert  Barber  and 
Abbot  Green,  with  whom  I  had  business.     Slept  at  Smelcher's,  in 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  361 

a  bed  at  the  fire,  and  saw  sparking  going  on.  i3tli.  Came  to 
Baldy's ;  drank  too  mucli  whisky ;  spent  the  evening  with  Sheriff 
Jared  Irwin  there.  15th.  Crossed  at  Black's,  went  to  Lawshe's, 
spent  the  evening  there,  and  slept  with  old  Sam  Brady. ^ 

May  2.  Went  with  Mrs.  Hood  to  White  Deer  valley.  They 
sing  new  tunes  and  Watts'  Psalms  here.  4th.  Went  to  Newbury, 
where  I  met  Billy  Dougan,  and  went  home  with  him.  5  th.  Heard 
Mr.  Siers  preach  from  the  text  "Come,  for  all  things  are  ready." 
He  said  the  man  should  have  brought  his  wife  with  him  to  the  wed- 
ding. [He  was  no  doubt  the  ancestor  of  the  sensational  preachers 
of  our  day.]  Sunday,  loth.  Heard  Mr.  Smilie,  Baptist,  preach  at 
Jaysburg,  on  the  fruitful  vine.  Crossed  from  Jaysburg  to  David 
Russel's,  where  Doctor  Davidson  prescribed  for  me.  13th.  Crossed 
the  mountain  with  Mr.  Smilie.  Stopped  at  Week's,  [now  Union- 
town.]  He  went  to  preach,  and  I  to  Esquire  Brown's.  His  route 
home  is  marked  by  stops  at  G.  Anderson's,  Graham's,  Hugh  Don- 
nelly's, [Uniontown,]  Iredell's  fishery,  and  John  Hoffman's. 

June  7.  Hoffman's  son  and  daughter  went  to  the  consecration 
of  the  new  church  at  Youngmanstown.  9th.  The  boys  went  fish- 
ing with  Mr.  Hood.  14th.  Reuben  Davis,  a  student  full  of  self- 
importance,  dined  at  Clingan's.  24th.  At  George  Clark's,  took  tea 
with  the  amiable  Miss  Becca,  who  displayed  a  gold  ring  on  her 
finger. 

Wednesday,  July  i.  Election  at  Baldy's  for  militia  field-officers. 
Cider  oil  plenty,  which  occasioned  words  and  blows.  5th.  Mr. 
Hood  preached  at  Buffalo,  Psalm  xxvii :  4.  He  gave  me  a  rub,  in 
the  last  part  of  his  sermon,  for  not  attending  church.  19th.  A 
great  thunder  storm,  with  hail.  20th.  Reverend  Mr.  Hood  with 
us,  cutting  wheat.  He  is  a  great  cradler.  24th.  Mr.  Clingan  has 
seven  hundred  dozen,  and  not  two  bottles  of  whisky  drank  at  the 
cutting.  Sunday,  26th.  Mr.  Grier  and  Mr.  Hood  exchange.  Buf- 
falo people  not  used  to  such  long  sermons.  He  is  not  so  able  an 
orator  as  Mr.  Hood.  27th.  Election  at  Derrstown.  Fighting  going 
on  in  the  evening.  Citizen  Kremer  got  marked.  Miss  Wilson  and 
Miss  Craig,  of  Northampton,  at  Mr.  Hayes'.  They  are  great  belles. 
28th.  Election  for  rifle  company  officers,  at  Clingan's.  29th.  Elec- 
tion for  company  officers,  at  Richard  Irwin's,  [White  Deer.]     Ed- 

'  Uncle  of  Oaptain  Samuel  Brady. — Linn. 


362  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1807. 

ward  Morton  and  I  attended  and  clerked.  We  had  plenty  of  talk 
and  whisky.  30th.  Went  down  to  John  Reber's.  Clerked  here, 
too.  Anotlier  election  of  officers.  Plenty  of  drink  here,  also.  31st. 
Went  to  Michael  Fought's,  [near  Chappell  hollow.]  Clerked  at 
another  election. 

August  — .  Captain  Fought  went  along.  Got  to  Baldy's  before 
breakfast.  Another  election.  Plenty  of  cider  royal.  8th.  At  Mil- 
ton. The  Flemings  and  Vincents  there,  raising  a  troop.  13th.  At 
Mr.  Huston's,  his  daughter,  though  small,  a  great  belle,  [afterwards 
wife  of  John  Taggert,  Esquire,  of  Northumberland.  She  is  recently 
deceased,  1871.] 

September  6.  Mr.  Clingan  and  George  went  to  John  Cornelius' 
funeral.  Mathew  Laird  says  he  will  be  very  much  missed  in  his 
family,  as  he  was  a  very  shifty  man.  Saturday,  19th.  Over  at  the 
.camp-meeting  beyond  Milton.  Went  to  town.  Called  at  Dan 
I  Smith's,  William  Pollock's,  and  drank  wine  at  Calhoun's,  with  the 
Barrs.  Sunday  night  at  camp.  Sermon  from  Revelations,  iii :  18. 
The  moon  shining  through  the  trees,  the  fire,  candles  in  the  camp, 
the  large,  quiet  crowd  of  people,  made  the  scene  romantic  and 
solemn.  20th.  Great  carrying  on  at  camp.  Criswell's  boys  got 
happy.  26th.  Mr.  Bryson  preached  on  Psalm  cxxxiii.  Billy  Poak's 
wife  fainted  in  meeting. 

October  3.  Drank  a  morning  dram  with  Mr. ,  the  Metho- 
dist minister  from  Lycoming,  and  went  home  with  Robert  Lyon. 
He  is  very  poor,  but  hospitable.  6th.  At  Franklin's.  Albright  and 
wife  there.  Took  dinner  at  Doctor  Byer's.  Called  at  Poak's. 
Much  diverted  with  the  girls  and  Donaldson's  wife  and  daughter. 
Then  called  at  Hayes'  and  Cramer's  and  went  to  George  Clark's- 
9th.  Clingan  brought  home  Mr.  Hood  and  Reverend  H.  R.  Wilson, 
Bellefonte  ;  the  latter  a  very  facetious  man.  Comet  still  in  view. 
13th.  Clerked  at  the  election  at  Billmyer's.  Tommy  stole  a  bag 
string  to  cure  Trimmer's  ancle.  20th.  Review  at  Derrstown.  Seve- 
ral bottles  in  the  evening.  George  stole  a  bag  string  for  another 
horse.  31st.  My  horse  broke  his  bridle  at  Robert's  tavern,  Milton. 
Staid  and  slept  with  old  Peter  Vincent. 

Sunday,  November  i.  Mr.  Hood  got  a  letter,  stating  that  the 
horse  had  ran  away  with  his  wife  and  Ann  Dale,  broke  the  chair, 
and  Mrs.  Hood's  leg.     [This  accident  happened  near  Harrisburg. 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  363 

They  were  going  to  Chester  county  on  a  visit.  Mrs.  Hood  was  a  Has- 
let, from  that  county.]  2cl.  Tommy  took  sixty-eight  bushels  corn  to 
deGruchy's,  at  Northumberland.  7th.  Mr.  Hood  and  James  Dale  set 
off  in  a  boat  to  bring  Mrs.  Hood  home,  i  ith.  Mrs.  Hood  arrived  at 
Derrstown.  Mr.  Wilson  brought  her  home  on  a  sled.  Annie  Dale 
much  hurt,  too.  [My  uncle,  Doctor  W.  I.  Wilson,  says  he  recollects 
well  of  riding  the  horses  attached  to  the  sled  which  brought  Mrs. 
Hood  to  her  home  from  the  river.]  1 5th.  Clingan's  youngsters,  Aunt 
Dale's  youngsters  went  with  Mr.  Haslet  to  visit  at  Senator  Maclay's. 
December  9.  Clingan  butchering.  George  Weikel  assisting 
Beau  Barber  here.  Mr.  Haslet  and  Mr.  Hood  helping  butcher, 
loth.  George  at  a  tramping  frolic  at  Uncle  Clark's,  iith.  Beaux 
Kremer,  Haslet,  Barber  here.  "  Where  the  carcase  is,  thither  will 
the  eagles  gather  together."  12th.  Billy  Thompson  died.  20th. 
Mr.  Hood  preached  from  11  Timothy,  i  :io.  The  people  seemed  too 
lazy  to  leave  the  meeting-house.  There  is  a  stove  in  it  now.  21st. 
Girls  up  at  Mrs.  Linn's  last  night.  George,  Nancy,  Haslet,  Sam 
Maclay,  Dale,  &c.  24th.  Shooting  match  at  Zerbe's,  [now  John 
Grove's.]  31st.  Billy  Forster  and  citizen  Kremer  at  Clingan's. 
George  fired  off  guns  at  midnight. 

The  Leading  Circuit  Lawyers,  by  George  A.  Snyder. 

At  this  time,  the  courts  of  Northumberland,  Lycoming,  and  Lu- 
zerne were  attended  by  the  lawyers  of  Lancaster,  York,  Harrisburg, 
and  Carlisle.  From  Lancaster  came  Charles  Smith,  one  of  the 
ablest  jurists  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Hopkins  also  came,  but  seldom. 
Bowie^  was  the  only  one  I  can  remember  from  York.  Thomas 
Duncan  and  David  Watts,  from  Carlisle.  From  Harrisburg  came 
George  Fisher,  Thomas  Elder,  William  Irwin,  and  others.  Each 
lawyer  kept  his  saddle-horse.  The  Lancaster,  York,  and  Carlisle 
lawyers  met  at  Harrisburg ;  when  that  court  terminated,  they  came 
to  Sunbury ;  then  to  Williamsport  and  Wilkesbarre.  As  their  num- 
bers were  recruited  at  each  county  town,  they  formed  a  considerable 
troop  of  cavalry  on  entering  the  two  last  places. 

The  nature  and  character  of  the  law  business  were  then  different 
from  what  they  are  at  present.     Almost  all  the  important  actions 

'  Ralph  Bowie,  Esquire,  died  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  October  22,  1816.    He  is  said 
to  tiave  been  an  elegant  lawyer. — Linn. 


3b4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1807. 

were  ejectments  upon  disputed  original  titles.  The  number  of  wit- 
nesses was  very  great,  the  means  of  traveling  scanty,  the  district 
large,  so  that  much  allowance  had  to  be  made  for  failure  of  attend- 
ance. The  causes  were,  therefore,  frequently  continued,  so  that 
they  usually  stood  upon  the  trial  list  several  years  before  they  could 
be  acted  upon.  This,  added  to  the  dilatory  habits  always  prevalent 
in  frontier  settlements,  produced  that  leisurely,  time-wasting  habit 
of  doing  business  which,  until  lately,  characterized  our  county  courts. 
The  lawyers  of  this  district  seldom  undertook  an  important  cause 
without  calling  in  the  aid  of  Duncan,  Watts,  Fisher,  or  some  other 
able  practitioner. 

Duncan  was  a  small  man,  with  keen  looking  gray  eyes,  and  a 
sharp,  unmusical  voice.  His  knowledge  of  law  was  more  extensive 
and  accurate  than  that  of  any  of  his  compeers,  and  he  possessed 
great  tact  in  the  trial  of  a  cause,  almost  always  managing  to  put  his 
opponents,  though  they  were  plaintiffs,  on  the  defensive — an  im- 
mense advantage  in  law  as  well  as  in  war.  My  father  placed  him 
upon  the  Supreme  Bench,  where  he  was  considered  an  important 
acquisition. 

Mr.  Watts  was  a  large  man,  with  a  powerful  voice.  His  self- 
reliance  was  great,  and  of  great  advantage  to  him,  for  his  abilities 
were  considerable.  He  contemned  authorities,  preferring  to  argue 
his  case  from  first  principles,  and  this  he  did  with  much  power.  He 
was  apt  to  be  violent  and  overbearing,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  heap- 
ing abuse  upon  his  opponents.  He  was  a  good  classical  scholar, 
and  on  that  score  was  susceptible  to  flattery.  He  maintained  that 
squinting  was  an  infallible  mark  of  dishonesty.  He  himself  sc^uinted, 
though  he  was  not  aware  of  it,  and  could  not  be  convinced  of  it  by 
others.  He  spent  his  money  with  careless  profusion.  He  died  of 
cancer,  about  the  year  182 1.  He  was  the  father  of  Judge  Frederick 
Watts,  a  man  of  talent  and  industry,  and  greatly  esteemed  for  his 
many  excellent  qualities. 

George  Fisher  was  a  large  man,  of  imposing  exterior.  Inferior] 
in  ability  either  to  Duncan  or  Watts,  he  was  still  able  to  make 
good  figure  at  the  bar.  His  practice  was  mostly  confined  to  th 
defensive  side,  as  it  was  dangerous  to  allow  him  to  collect  money 
He  lived  to  a  great  age — eighty-four,  I  believe. 

Charles  Hall,  of  Sunbury,  was  a  good  lawyer,  and  highly  esteemed] 


I 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  365 

as  a  man.  He  was  shrewd,  laborious,  and  very  attentive  to  the 
interests  of  his  dients.  He  had  not,  however,  the  gift  of  a  ready 
speaker,  being  ratlier  tedious. 

Daniel  Smith  was  the  only  lawyer  of  the  district  who  could  be 
called  eloquent  in  a  high  sense. 

Daniel  Levy,  of  Sunbury,  outlived  all  the  old  lawyers,  as  they 
were  popularly  called,  except  Mr.  Bellas.  He  was  a  conceited 
man,  active  as  a  cat,  an  insatiable  dancer,  and  a  hard  fighter.  He 
had  considerable  science  as  a  boxer,  and  although  not  large  or  strong, 
his  skill  joined  to  his  prodigious  activity  made  him  quite  formidable. 
His  vanity  and  fondness  for  dress  made  him  a  capital  butt,  and  sub- 
ject of  jokes  for  his  fellow-members  of  the  bar.  He  lived  to  the  age 
of  seventy,  and  a  fop  to  the  last. 

[I  have  dropped  Mr.  Snyder's  strictures  on  the  morals  of  these 
old  legal  giants.  But  that  the  truth  may  be  told  in  a  general  way, 
drinking  habits  got  the  better  of  some  of  them.] 

Hugh  Bellas  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  old  lawyers.  A  man  of 
singular  energy,  and  the  most  elastic  spirit,  I  ever  knew.  He  came 
to  this  country  from  Ireland,  when  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age. 
George  Bellas,  his  father,  was  poor,  and  unable  to  educate  his  children. 
Hugh  was  bound  to  Robert  Irwin,  of  Northumberland,  to  learn  the 
mercantile  business.  Here  he  found  a  congenial  spirit  in  Robert 
Christie,  the  senior  clerk.  Robert  was  the  son  of  an  English  teacher, 
and  had  been  well  educated.  Store-keeping  was  not  then  conducted 
on  the  go-ahead  style  of  the  present,  and  our  clerks,  having  consid- 
erable leisure  at  certain  periods,  devoted  themselves  to  reading  and 
study.  Mr.  Bellas'  father  was  a  strict  Presbyterian,  and  had  brought 
up  his  family  in  the  faith  of  that  Church ;  but  the  active  and  inde- 
pendent mind  of  Hugh,  let  him  into  inquiries,  which  caused  him  to 
reject  Calvanism,  and  even  to  doubt  seriously  the  entire  christian 
faith.  About  this  time  (1799)  he  heard  much  said  of  three  re- 
markable sermons  of  Doctor  Priestly,  on  "habitual  devotion,"  the 
"danger  of  bad  habits,"  and  the  "duty  of  not  living  to  ourselves." 
Meeting  the  doctor  one  day,  he  expressed  a  desire  to  read  these 
sermons.  "  My  young  friend,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  I  judge  from 
your  opinions  on  the  subject  of  revelation,  that  you  would  not  be 
able  to  appreciate  these  discourses.  Before  you  undertake  them,  I 
will,  if  you  please,  put  a  tract  into  your  hands,  the  reading  of  which 


366  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1807. 

will,  I  hope,  prepare  you  for  the  doctrine  of  my  sermons."     The 
seed  fell  into  good  ground  and  brought  forth  an  hundred  fold. 

While  at  Irwin's,  Mr.  Bellas  commenced  studying  law  with  Jon- 
athan Walker,  afterward  Judge  Walker.  It  was  about  the  year 
1803,  Mr.  Bellas  applied  for  admission,  but  he  met  a  most  formi- 
dable opposition.  Every  lawyer  then  at  the  bar  in  this  district  was 
a  decided  Federalist,  and  as  Mr.  Bellas  was  not  only  an  active  and 
influential  Democrat,  but  of  the  plebeian  stock,  the  aristocratic  gen- 
tlemen objected  to  his  admission,  on  the  ground  of  his  not  having 
studied  actually  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Walker,  but  in  a  store,  and  while 
conducting  a  business  of  another  character. 

Whether  the  court  decided  against  him,  or  he  was  induced  by  the 
clamor  of  his  opponents  to  suspend  application,  I  am  unable  to  say. 
This  happened  during  the  session  of  the  court  at  Bellefonte.  Re- 
turning to  Northumberland,  and  stating  the  case  to  Mr.  Walker,  the 
latter  advised  him  to  employ  counsel  in  his  behalf,  and  renew  his 
application  at  Sunbury.  Mr.  Bellas  accordingly  retained  Daniel 
Smith,  who  brought  his  case  before  the  court,  and  advocated  it  so 
ably  that  an  examination  was  ordered,  and  Charles  Hall,  the  most 
determined  of  his  opponents,  appointed  one  of  his  examiners.  The 
examination  was  held  in  open  court,  and  was  most  rigorous.  Mr. 
Hall  came  prepared  with  a  sheet  of  written  questions ;  many  of  them 
mere  trials  of  memory.  Such  as  the  date  of  certain  statutes  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.  Mr.  Bellas'  memory  was,  however,  never  at  fault.  The 
judge  perceiving  that  he  had  no  ordinary  candidate  before  him,  vvas 
highly  gratified.  At  one  stage  the  judge  asked  him  what  is  criminal 
law?  Mr.  Bellas,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  commenced:  Law  is 
a  rule  of  action.  Here  the  judge  interrupted  him  in  his  quick, 
nervous  way,  with  "  I  don't  want  a  general  definition  of  law,  but  of 
criminal  law."  Criminal  law,  resumed  Mr.  Bellas,  is  a  rule  of  action 
defining  and  prohibiting  crime,  and  prescribing  due  punishment. 
That  will  do,  remarked  the  judge,  I  only  asked  the  question  in  order 
to  try  your  judgment.  There  is  no  definition  of  criminal  law  in  the 
books.  The  three  hours'  ordeal  passed.  Mr.  Hall  most  grudgingly 
admitted  that  the  young  man  had  passed  a  satisfactory  examination, 
and  recommended  his  admission  to  the  bar. 

My  father,  [afterward  Governor  Snyder,]  who  was  at  the  time 
county  treasurer,  witnessed  the  whole  proceedings,  and  resolved  to 


i 


1807.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  367 

patronize  the  young  lawyer.  He  accordingly  employed  him  in  the 
memorable  Isle  of  Que  case,  which  terminated  in  his  favor,  after 
more  than  twenty  years  litigation. 

Hugh  Bellas,  Esquire,  died  October  26,  1S63,  aged  eighty-three 
and  a  half  years. 

Marriages.  : 

May  II,  Peter  Kreechbaum  with  Elizabeth  Davis,  in  presence 
of  his  father  Peter,  and  brother  George. 

June  21,  Martin  Billmyer  with  Margaret  Himmelrich,  in  pres- 
ence of  her  parents,  George  Billmyer  and  wife,  Stephen  Frantz  and 
wife,  George  Withington,  &c. 

November  13,  George  Kreechbaum  with  Polly  Keller,  daughter 
of  George  Keller,  now  in  Sciota. 

December  10,  By  Reverend  Henry  R.  Wilson,  Thomas  Burn- 
side,  Esquire,  to  Miss  Mary  Fleming,  of  Bellefonte. 

December  26,  John  Brobst  with  Lydia  Marriner.  Witnesses, 
Sophia  Nixon,  Thomas  Poak,  John  Conser,  &c. 

Deaths. 

February  15,  Adam  Young; 

I\Iarch  30,  John  Aurand,  of  East  Buffalo.  He  was  born  in  Dil- 
lenberg,  Germany,  February  5,  1725;  was,  therefore,  eighty-two 
years  six  months  three  weeks  and  four  days  old.  His  grave,  in 
the  Dreisbach  yard,  is  unmarked,  and  possibly  cannot  be  identi- 
fied. His  wife,  Mary  Elizabeth,  died  before  him.  His  children 
were  :  Henry,  who  lived  and  died  in  Snyder  county ;  Peter  and 
Jacob,  lived  in  Reading ;  Daniel,  in  Sunbury ;  Reverend  Dietrich, 
who  died  in  Huntingdon  county;  George  Aurand,  Esquire,  died 
July  18,  1850,  buried  in  the  Hassinger  grave-yard,  near  Middle- 
burg,  (father  of  Jacob  Aurand,  Esquire,  of  Middleburg;)  Eliza- 
beth, intermarried  with  Francis  Zeller ;  John,  who  died  soon  after, 
(his  widow  Catherine  married  Henry  Rhiem;)  Abraham;  Mary, 
married  to  John  Wolfe.  His  descendants  are,  like  the  sands  of  the 
sea,  innumerable,  scattered  all  through  New  York,  Ohio,  Illinois ; 
and  the  family  Bible,  written  for  by  the  agent  in  New  York,  which 
will  secure  a  large  fortune  to  the  family,  can  be  produced  by  Jacob 
Aurand,  Esquire,  of  Middleburg. 


j68  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1807. 

September  t6,  Florence,  wife  of  Colonel  John  Clarke,  aged  sev- 
enty-six. 

William  Thompson,  of  White  Deer  township,  in  the  seventieth 
year  of  his  age.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  Presbyterian 
burial  ground,  in  Derrstown,  followed  by  a  numerous  assemblage  oi 
friends  and  relations.  He  left  a  widow,  Jane,  who  died  in  Lewis- 
burg.  Daughter,  Ruth;  granddaughter,  Nancy  T.  Reznor;  son, 
James.  ^ 

George  Wilt,  of  West  Buffalo,  died  in  the  spring.  Widow,  Cath- 
erine.    Children  :  Elizabeth,  Adam,  George,  Barbara,  and  Mary. 

Daniel  Franklin,  inn-keeper,  died  in  September. 

William  McKim,  of  Buffalo.     Robert  McKim. 

Reverend  John  Hoge.  Children:  Ebenezer,  Samuel,  David, 
Jonathan  D.,  Elizabeth  Brice,  Mary  Redrick,  Priscilla  Bennett. 

David  Katherman,  West  Buffalo.  Children :  Barbara,  George, 
Jacob. 

Lewis  Frantz.  Children  :  Stephen,  John,  Jacob,  Philip,  Cathe- 
rine, George,  Margaret. 

William  Steele,  of  Buffalo. 

'  Keverend  James  Thompson  studied  theology  under  Mr.  Hood.  Licensed,  1817. 
April  17,  1819,  installed  pastor  of  Shaver's  Ureek  and  Alexandria  churches.  Died 
October  8, 1830.  Left  a  widow,  Eliza,  (Stewart,)  one  son,  and  two  daughters. — $<:>■- 
Gihs'ni^s  Hintovy  of  the  UuntinydDn  Presbytery. 


m.^mrn'os 


'^^'^uA^^'m^P^ 


•i<Qj 


i 


i§o8. 


The  First  Baptist  Church  Organized— Political  Affairs — Simon  Sny- 
der Elected  Governor — Death  of  John  Brady,  (Sheriff,)  and  No- 
tices OF  HIS  Family. 

EMBER  of  Congress,  George  Smith.  Members  of  As- 
sembly, elected  in  October,  John  Murray,  Leonard 
Rupert,  Frederick  Evans,  and  Andrew  Albright.  Clerk 
11  of  the  Middle  District  of  the  Supreme  Court,  John  L. 
Finney.  County  Commissioner  elect,  Andrew  McClenachan.  Amos 
Ellmaker,  Deputy  Attorney  General  for  Dauphin  and  Northumber- 
land. By  the  act  of  21st  March,  Northumberland  county  was  enti- 
tled to  four  members  of  the  House,  and,  with  Luzerne,  to  two 
members  of  the  Senate. 

January  2;^,  the  congressional  caucus  nominated  James  Madison 
for  President  and  George  Clinton  for  Vice. 

Under  date  March  16,  the  Argus  notices  a  meeting  of  the  Repub- 
lican members  of  the  Legislature,  which  declared  unanimously  for 
Simon  Snyder,  for  Governor.  The  Federalists,  it  says,  favor  James 
Ross.  The  Quids,  John  Spayd.  Democratic  Presidential  electors  : 
William  Wilson,  Robert  Giffen,  Jacob  Hostetter. 

29th  March,  Adam-  Wilt  commissioned  justice.  May  15,  Rev- 
erend John  Dietrich  Adams,  of  the  Reformed  Church,  called  to  the 
Middle  Creek,  Beaver  Dam,  &c.,  churches.  He  accepted,  and 
seems  to  have  served  until  181 2,  when  he  was  excommunicated. 
Tradition  says  love  for  strong  drink  was  his  ruin.  Postmaster  at 
Mifflinburg,  Thomas  Youngman.  During  this  year  and  the  next, 
the  Reverend  Jacob  Diffenbach,  of  the  Reformed  Church,  lived  in 

24  3^9 


370  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1808. 

Mifflinburg,  preached  there,  and  at  times  in  Brush  valley  and  Selins- 
grove.  He  married  a  Miss  Lydia  Hughes,  of  Selinsgrove,  subse- 
quently removed  to  Espytown,  and  died  there  in  1825.  One  of  his 
children,  Samuel  Dieffenbach,  resides  near  Selinsgrove,  Snyder 
county.  30th  September,  George  Clark  commissioned  justice, 
White  Deer.  James  McClellan,  Esquire,  taught  school  at  Cham- 
berlin's  mill. 

Additional  Residents  in  East  Buffalo. — Baldy,  Benjamin  ;  Beard, 
Christian,  blacksmith;  Brewer,  John  ;  Bossier,  John  ;  Christ,  Adam, 
junior ;  Christ,  Henry  ;  Dentler,  John ;  Deratt,  Daniel,  both  on 
Mathias  Macpherson's  place ;  George,  John  ;  Heiser,  Frederick ; 
Jackson,  Robert,  (colored;)  Kitchen,  John;  Kline,  Jacob;  Mc- 
Curdy,  Daniel,  at  James  Dale's ;  Searfoss,  George ;  Shields,  Wil- 
liam ;  Snook,  Martin,  (Jenkins;)  Swook,  Peter,  (Jenkins  ;)  Snyder, 
Daniel,  blacksmith  ;  Taylor,  Robert. 

Lewisbiirg — Billman, Henry;  Clark, George ;  Friedly,  John ;  Guy, 
Thomas  :  Horning,  Conrad  ;  Kremer,  George,  store  in  Chamberlin's 
building  ;  Martin,  John,  carpenter  ;  Myers,  Peter  ;  Rees,  Daniel, 
inn-keeper ;  Sergeant,  John,  nailor  ;  Sitgreaves,  Charles,  saddler ; 
Stillwell,  Joseph,  school-teacher;  Stroub,  Michael,  weaver;  Wagner, 
Henry. 

New  Berlin — Estrich,  Christian,  merchant ;  Feather,  Jacob,  hat- 
ter ;  Frantz,  William  ;  Fought,  George ;  Lehman,  Thomas,  school- 
teacher ;  McCullough,  William  ;  Maurer,  Adam ;  Pontius,  Henry, 
junior,  carpenter;  Smith,  Peter,  gunsmith  ;  Springer,  Henry,  chair- 
maker  ;  Winter,  Daniel,  inn-keeper. 

White  Deer — Awl,  Samuel  and  John,  junior;  Ferris,  Joseph,  on 
William  Clingan's  place  ;  Heckle,  George  ;  Heckle,  Simon  ;  Hunt- 
ingdon, Abraham ;  Kline,  Charles,  on  Ranck's  place ;  Thomas, 
Arthur,  miller. 

West  Buffalo — Charles,  John  ;  Elert,  Widow ;  Elder,  John  ; 
Geddes,  Samuel ;  Jodon,  James  ;  Komp,  Adam  ;  Kline,  Jacob  ; 
Miller,  Peter  ;  Shaup,  Henry. 

Mifflinburg — Clark,  Widow  Sarah  ;  Cronmiller,  Martin,  black- 
smith ;  Grove,  Andrew,  blacksmith  ;  Hofferd,  John,  taxed  with 
grist  and  saw-mill,  late  Christopher  Johnson's,  on  Rapid  run,  after 
whose  death  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  John  Rcish ;  Lane,  William, 
hatter  ;  Yearick,  Henry. 


I 


1808.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  371 

Enumeration  of  the  Taxable  Inhabitants  of  the  different  Town- 
ships of  Buffalo  Valley — Buffalo  East,  four  hundred  and  forty-seven, 
and  one  slave  ;  ButTalo  West,  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  ;  White 
Deer,  two  hundred  and  five,  and  one  slave  ;  Washington,  eighty-one, 
and  one  slave. 

f'lrsi  Baptist  Church. 

The  first  regular  Baptist  church  in  what  is  now  Union  county, 
was  raised  under  the  labors  of  Thomas  Smiley,  in  Washington  (now 
Gregg)  township,  and  was  recognized  by  sister  churches  October  23, 
1808.  Elder  Smiley  remained  its  pastor  until  his  death,  in  1832. 
He  was  succeeded  by  George  Spratt,  M.  D.,  1833-1834;  his  son, 
George  M.  Spratt,  D.  D.,  1 835-1 839  ;  William  S.  Hall,  1 840-1 843  ; 
John  Edminster,  1843-1847;  William  T.  Bunker,  1849-1853;  Pro- 
fessor Robert  Lowry,  1854;  George  Frear,  D.  D.,  1855;  Joshua 
Kelly,  1857-1858  ;  W.  R.  McNeal,  1859  ;  Samuel  W.  Ziegler,  i860; 
J.  Green  Miles,  1 861 -1865  ;  George  W.  Snyder,  1867  ;  and  J.  Green 
Miles  since  1S69. —  O.  N.   Worden. 

Political. 

Northumberland  and  Luzeme  composed  the  senatorial  district. 
Centre,  Lycoming  and  Northumberland  composed  the  congressional 
district.  General  Daniel  Montgomery  declined  a  re-election.  At  the 
Democratic-Republican  convention,  held  at  Sunbury,  on  the  28th 
of  June,  the  delegates  from  Buffalo  were  Samuel  Maclay  and  General 
C.  Baldy ;  West  Buffalo,  John  Wilson  and  lliomas  Youngman  ; 
Penn's,  Frederick  Evans  and  Philip  Moore ;  White  Deer,  Andrew 
McClenachan  and  William  Chamberlin. 

The  nominating  convention  was  held  at  Derrstown,  on  the  20th 
of  August.  Thirty-seven  delegates  from  twenty  townships.  General 
Robert  Giffen  was  elected  president ;  Matthew  Huston,  secretary. 
Simon  Snyder  was  unanimously  nominated  for  Governor ;  George 
Smith,  of  Lycoming,  for  Congress  ;  Nathan  Palmer,  of  Luzerne,  for 
State  Senator ;  John  Murray,  Andrew  Albright,  Leonard  Rupert, 
and  Frederick  Evans,  for  Assembly. 

The  Federal  leaders  of  that  day  were  General  William  Wilson, 


3J3  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1808. 

Charles  Hall,  Esquire,  Captain  Christian  Brobst,  William  Mears, 
Samuel  Miles,  Esquire,  John  Buyers,  &c.  The  canvass  for  Governor 
this  year  was  exceedingly  bitter.  Among  other  stories,  was  that  the 
Honorable  Samuel  Maclay  had  expressed  himself  in  favor  of  James 
Ross  for  Governor,  at  William  McAllister's,  in  Juniata  county,  when 
he  and  the  Honorable  Daniel  Montgomery  were  on  their  return  from 
Congress  ;  that  Simon  Snyder  had  said  in  the  presence  of  one  George 
Church,  who  made  affidavit  to  that  effect,  that  no  poor  man  ought  to 
have  the  right  of  voting  at  an  election ;  that  he  had  voted  for  a  bill 
to  fine  Mennonists  and  Quakers  $\o  for  not  attending  militia  train- 
ings ;  that  he  intended,  or  favored,  dividing  the  property  of  the  rich 
among  the  poor.  The  Snyder  men  were  accused  of  suing  the  Ross- 
ites  for  debts.  Jared  Irwin,  the  sheriff,  certifies  that  Simon  Snyder 
has  not  issued  an  execution  for  twelve  months ;  Judge  Cooper,  that 
Simon  Snyder  did  not  behave  improperly  in  handing  a  paper  to  the 
judge,  &:c.  James  Ross  was  declared  to  be  a  man  of  mercenary  and 
avaricious  disposition ;  accused  of  blasphemy  and  mockery  of  religion  ; 
said  to  be  "  the  candidate  of  the  nabobs  and  lawyers ;  that  while 
member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  he  advocated  the  wresting  of 
New  Orleans  from  the  Spaniards  by  force,  instead  of  acquiring  it 
by  treaty.  During  the  reign  of  terror,  (Adams'  administration,)  his 
violence  for  its  measures  secured  him  the  Federal  patronage."  All 
manner  of  tricks  were  resorted  to. 

Andrew  Albright  and  Robert  Smith  were  nominated  by  the  Fed- 
eral meeting,  at  Milton,  for  Assembly,  although  known  to  be  Dem- 
ocrats, in  favor  of  Jefferson  and  his  embargo.  Both  came  out  in  the 
Argus,  disclaiming  the  nomination. 

As  early  as  this  year,  Andrew  C.  Huston,  with  John  Frick  and 
others,  issue  an  address,  as  representatives  of  the  young  men  of  North- 
umberland county,  in  favor  of  Simon  Snyder.  Judge  Thomas  Cooper, 
in  a  communication,  vindicates  the  private  character  of  Simon  Sny- 
der, although  he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  vote  for  either  Simon 
Snyder  or  James  Ross. 


1808.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


373 


OCTOBEB  ELECTION. 


Buffalo,  .  . 
West  Buffalo, 
Berlin,  .  .  . 
Swlnelbrd's,  . 
Milton,  .  . 
Selinsgrove,  . 
Miffiinburg,  . 
Beaver,      .     . 


SNYDER. 

ROSS. 

311 

68 

300 

70 

209 

10 

166 

8 

467 

127 

237 

28 

49 

32 

138 

3 

Snyder's  majority  in  the  county,  over  both,  was  2,927.  Colonel 
John  Bull  was  the  Federal  candidate  against  Colonel  George  Smith, 
for  Congress.  Colonel  John  Kelly,  against  Nathan  Palmer,  for 
Senate.  For  Assembly,  the  Federal  candidates  were  Sol  Markley, 
Robert  Barber,  Esquire,  Abraham  Miller,  and  Thomas  Wallace. 
Henry  Musser  was  elected  commissioner,  over  Theodore  Kiehl  and 
James  Smith.  For  presidential  electors  on  the  Democratic-Repub- 
lican and  Whig  side — for  the  party  recognize  all  three  names — were 
William  Montgomery  and  Robert  Giffen.  The  Federalists  are  called 
the  Tories.  John  Boyd  was  the  Federal  candidate  for  elector. 
Vote,  2,793  to  221. 

Marriages. 

March  22,  John  Freedly  with  Elizabeth  Lehman,  by  H.  Spyker, 
in  presence  of  Daniel  Nyhart,  her  brother-in-law,  &:c. 

May  4,  Peter  Myers  to  Sophia  Nixon,  by  same,  in  the  presence 
of  her  step-father,  James  Marriner,  and  her  mother,  Peter  Spyker, 
George  Graham,  Thomas  Poak,  Margaret  Graham,  Betsy  Smith, 
Lydia  Press,  &c. 

May  17,  by  the  same,  Henry  Zerbe  with  Susanna  Heckel.  Wit- 
nesses :  Adam  Wertz,  Peter  Leonard,  John  Snyder,  &c. 

July  5,  Peter  Brown  with  Catherine  Kantz,  in  presence  of  her 
brother,  Peter  Kantz,  brother-in-law,  John  Hartman. 

March  24,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  William  Nesbit,  of  Chillisqua- 
que,  to  Nancy  Musser,  of  East  Buffalo. 

November  29,  George  Freedly  with  Catherine  Frantz,  by  H.  Spy- 
ker, Esquire,  in  presence  of  Andrew  Billmyer  and  wife,  George 
Billmyer  and  wife,  John  Frantz,  Jacob  Frantz,  Peggy  Librunen,  &c. 


374  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1808. 


Deaths. 

Samuel  Dunning  and  James  McCorley,  White  Deer. 

Neal  Madden,  father  of  the  late  James  Madden,  Esquire,  West 
Buffalo. 

1 7th  May,  Adam  Christ,  aged  sixty-six.  Left  widow,  Elizabeth. 
Children :   Henry,  Elizabeth,  Eve,  married  to  John  Snook. 

Elizabeth  Earne,  Buffalo.  (Her  daughter  married  Jacob  Moore.) 
Children:   John,  Anna  M.,  Balisa,  and  Susanna. 

Joseph  Ultz,  of  West  Buffalo. 

John  Aurand,  junior,  East  Buffalo. 

James  Boveard,  East  Buffalo,  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  Enlisted, 
1776,  as  private  in  Captain  David  Kilgore's  company,  eighth  Penn- 
sylvania, and  served  three  years.  His  family  as  follows  :  Children  : 
Hannah,  Robert,  Alexander,  Mary,  married  to  Robert  McBride, 
Jane,  to  Doctor  James  Charleton,  ,  to  John  Steans. 

Daniel  Metzgar,  hotel-keeper  at  Lewisburg.  His  widow.  Eve, 
afterwards  married  to  Colonel  Christopher  Baldy. 

Saturday,  30th  January,  Mrs.  Annie  McBeth,  of  White  Deer, 
formerly  of  Cumberland  county,  buried  at  Buffalo  Cross  Roads. 
Her  ancestors  fled  from  Scotland  on  account  of  religious  persecution. 
They  were  of  the  first  settlers  at  Brandywine,  in  Chester  county. 
She  was  twice  married,  first  to  John  Fleming,  and  afterwards  to  An- 
drew McBeth ;  had  four  children  by  her  first,  and  five  by  her  last 
husband.     One  of  her  sons  fell  at  Long  Island. — Argus. 

27th  July,  Susanna  Baldy,  consort  of  General  C.  Baldy,  aged 
fifty  two.  A  faithful  observance  of  all  the  relative  duties  of  wife, 
mother,  and  friend,  marked  the  conduct  of  this  truly  excellent  wo- 
man.— Argus,  yi  August. 

December  10,  at  Milton,  John  Brady,  inn-keeper,  and  former 
sheriff  of  Northumberland  county,  aged  forty-eight.  He  is  buried  in 
the  cemetery  at  Lewisburg.  His  wife,  Jane,  survived  him  twenty 
years,  and  is  buried  in  the  same  grave.  A  mural  monument,  covered 
with  a  heavy  marble  slab,  marks  their  grave  and  that  of  Mary  Brady, 
widow  of  Captain  John  Brady. 

John  Brady's  children  were  :  Lieutenant  Samuel  Brady,  born  2 2d 
February,  1793.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  181 2,  he 
served  as  a  volunteer,  under  Governor  Edwards,  in  a  campaign 


I 


1808.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  j/j 

against  the  Indians.  They  had  one  battle,  defeating  the  Indians. 
Shortly  afterwards,  he  received  a  commission  as  ensign  in  the  twenty- 
second  United  States  regiment,  commanded  by  his  uncle,  General 
Hugh  Brady,  and  served  in  the  unfortunate  campaign  under  Gen- 
eral AVilkinson.  In  the  summer  of  1 814  he  was  attached  to  General 
Brown's  army,  on  the  Niagara  frontier.  He  was  in  the  bloody  battle 
of  Lundy's  Lane  \  a  second  heutenant  in  the  sortie  from  Fort  Erie. 
He  was  the  only  platoon  officer  of  his  regiment  that  was  not  either 
killed  or  wounded  in  the  former  battle,  and  Major  Arrowsmith  was 
the  only  field-officer  of  General  Scott's  brigade  that  was  left  on 
horseback.     See  his  letter  to  Captain  B.  Vincent,  under  date  of  181 4. 

After  peace  was  proclaimed,  Lieutenant  Brady  entered  into  an 
arrangement  with  Captain  John  Culbertson,  a  brother  officer,  to  go 
on  a  trading  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  supposing  that, 
upon  the  reduction  of  the  army,  he  would  not  be  retained  in  the 
service.  He  was  retained,  however ;  but  thinking  he  could  not,  in 
honor,  break  his  engagement  with  the  captain,  he  resigned.  The 
Government  declined  to  accept  his  resignation,  and  sent  him  an 
unlimited  furlough.  His  health,  however,  failed  him,  and  he  was 
advised  to  winter  in  the  South.  He  went  to  New  Orleans,  accom- 
panied by  his  friend.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Trimble,  of  Ohio,  and 
died  there  on  the  17th  of  February,  181 6,  not  quite  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  He  was  six  feet  five,  and  a  remarkably  fine  looking 
man.  His  disease  was  hurried  on  by  exposure  in  the  Niagara  cara- 
paigns,  when  he  should  have  been  in  the  hospital,  instead  of  the  field. 
In  the  Sunbiiry  Times  of  that  year,  there  is  an  eloquent  obituary, 
by  his  friend.  Colonel  Trimble,  in  which  he  says  :  "In  Lieutenant 
Brady's  death,  the  country  has  lost  an  intelligent  and  gallant  officer, 
and  myself  a  firm  and  distinterested  friend." 

William  Perry  Brady,  his  brother,  was  born  i6th  February,  1795. 
He  worked  for  a  while  at  his  trade — cabinet  making —  in  Aarons- 
burg.  In  1 813  he  entered  the  army  as  private.  His  regiment  was 
at  Erie  when  Perry  was  fitting  out  his  fleet.  The  commodore,  not 
having  a  sufficient  number  of  regular  marines,  called  for  volun- 
teers. William  was  the  first  who  volunteered.  Before  Perry  sailed. 
Colonel  Hugh  Brady  came  to  Erie,  and  through  his  influence,  Perry 
appointed  him  a  purser's  steward.  He  was  attached  to  one  of  the 
small  vessels,  and  was  in  the  battle  of  the  loth  of  September.     His 


j-j6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1808. 

vessel  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  he  was  the  last  man  to  leave  his 
gun.  His  shirt  sleeves  were  shot  away.  He  took  great  pride  in 
the  old  shirt,  and  often  showed  it  to  his  friends  in  after  years.  After 
the  battle,  and  the  return  of  the  fleet  to  Erie,  William  and  two  of 
his  Centre  county  friends,  waited  on  the  commodore.  He  granted 
them  their  discharges,  and  advised  them  to  return  home  and  settle 
in  civil  life,  remarking  that  they  had  already  rendered  important 
service  to  their  country.  William  took  his  advice,  returned  to 
Aaronsburg,  and  in  a  short  time  married  Rachel  Mussina,  of  that 
place.  In  1846,  he  was  elected  assistant  sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Senate,  which  place  he  retained  until  his  death,  at 
Harrisburg,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1864.  Every  one  having -business 
in  Harrisburg  in  the  last  twenty  years,  will  recollect  the  genial  com- 
panionship of  William  P.  Brady.  ■  He  survived  all  his  children, 
except  one  son,  who  died  about  one  year  after  his  father. 

Jasper  Ewing  Brady,  Esquire,  the  fourth  son,  was  born  March  4, 
1 797.  He  first  learned  the  trade  of  hatter,  and,  after  traveling  from 
place  to  place  for  two  or  three  years,  he  settled  in  Franklin  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  there  abandoned  his  trade,  and  taught  school 
several  years,  meanwhile  studying  law.  He  was  admitted  at  Cham- 
bersburg  in  1826  or  1827,  and  there  commenced  practice.  In  1843 
he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly,  and  re-elected  in  1844.  During  the 
first  session,  although  he  represented  an  anti-improvement  county, 
he  offered  an  amendment  to  the  bill  to  reduce  the  State  tax  provid- 
uig  for  the  assessment  of  a  three-mill  tax,  which  redeemed  the  credit 
of  the  State.  He  was  treasurer  of  Franklin  county  for  three  years. 
In  1846  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  beating  Honorable  Samuel  Hep- 
burn some  eight  hundred  votes.  He  was,  however,  defeated  in  1848, 
by  Honorable  James  X.  McLanahan.  The  Whig  loss  in  the  Carlisle 
district  was  some  two  hundred  votes.  Mr.  Brady  was  beaten  only 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  votes.  In  September,  1849,  ^^  removed 
to  Pittsburgh,  and  practiced  law  very  successfully  until  1861,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  a  responsible  position  in  the  paymasters'  depart- 
ment at  Washington.  He  was  removed  in  July,  1869,  by  General 
Rawlings,  then  Secretary  of  War.  He  then  resumed  the  practice  of 
law  at  Washington,  where  he  died. 

John  Brady,  the  third,  died  several  years  ago.     James,  the  young- 


1808.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  377 

est,  died  in  Franklin  county,  in  1829.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  intel- 
lect, and  was  thought  to  be  the  most  talented  of  the  family. 

Of  the  daughters  of  Sheriff  John  Brady,  Mary  married  William 
Piatt,  uncle  of  Judge  Piatt,  of  Brady  township,  Lycoming  county; 
Hannah  married  Judge  Piatt ;  Charlotte  married  H.  C.  Piatt ;  Jane 
married  Roland  Stoughton ;  her  descendants,  Mrs.  Lyndall's  chil- 
dren, still  live  in  Lewisburg ;  Nancy  married  George  B.  Eckert,  of 
Lewisburg. 

I  am  indebted  to  O.  N.  Worden,  late  of  the  Lewisburg  Chronicle, 
for  the  following  narrative  he  took  down  at  the  time.  He  says  :  In 
June,  1857,  I  took  the  following  notes  of  a  conversation  I  had  with 
]\Irs.  Mary  Brady  Piatt,  aged  seventy-two,  born  in  1785  : 

"  My  father  was  a  brother  of  Sam  Brady,  the  Indian  fighter.  I 
saw  him  once.  He  was  then  on  a  visit  to  my  father's,  at  Sunbury. 
I  went  with  them  over  to  Northumberland.  On  the  way  over,  my 
father  asked  Sam  if  he  could  jump  as  well  as  ever  ?  He  said  he  could 
not,  but  coming  to  a  high  fence  in  a  few  minutes,  he  sprung  clear 
over  it,  with  but  little  effort.  '  I  never  could  do  that,'  said  my  father. 
'  You  could,  if  obliged  to,'  said  Sam. 

"  Sam  killed  three  Indians  after  peace  was  declared,  and  a  reward 
of  $300  was  offered  for  his  apprehension.  Shortly  after,  he  was  sit- 
ting with  a  tavern-keeper,  in  West  Virginia,  when  two  strangers, 
Virginians,  rodq  up,  alighted,  and  asked  for  horse  feed  and  dinner. 
They  laid  their  pistols  upon  a  table,  near  which  sat  Sam,  rolling  his 
rifle  upon  his  knees.  In  the  course  of  conversation  with  the  land- 
lord, they  found  out  that  he  knew  Brady,  and  that  he  lived  in  that 
region,  and  was  very  popular.  They  told  the  landlord  that  they  had 
come  to  arrest  him,  and  if  he  gave  them  assistance,  they  would  share 
the  reward  with  him.  The  landlord  said  they  could  never  take  him, 
nor  could  any  one  take  him  alive.  Tliey  declared  they  could.  '  I 
am  Sam  Brady,' said  the  man  at  the  table.  They  were  startled.  They 
looked  at  him  for  a  minute,  and,  estimating  his  power,  waived  the 
attempt.  After  dinner,  they  went  to  the  table  to  get  their  pistols. 
Brady  said  they  could  not  have  those  pistols,  nor  could  the  landlord's 
entreaty  or  their  threats  prevail.  '  Go  back  to  your  homes,  and  tell 
them  Sam  Brady  took  your  pistols,'  was  all  the  answer  he  made.  He 
afterwards  gave  their  pistols  to  his  sons. 

' '  After  awhile  he  delivered  himself  up  for  trial  at  Pittsburgh.     He 


378  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1809. 


was  defended  by  Jam^s  Ross.  Brady  laid  the  scalps  on  the  bar.  '  There 
they  are  ;  I  killed  them.'  A  great  many  wom^^n  attended  this  trial, 
or  rather  men  in  women's  clothes,  ready  to  rescue  him,  if  convicted ; 
but  there  was  no  occasion  for  their  intervention." 

Mrs.  Piatt,  like  her  brother,  the  late  William  Perry  Brady,  re- 
mained a  Federalist  to  the  last.  She  said  when  Washington  was 
burned,  through  the  inefficiency  of  a  granny  President,  her  blood 
boiled,  and  she  longed  to  go,  that  she  might  shoot  at  least  one 
British  invader. 


1809. 


OFFicfALS — Residents — Roan's  Journal — Election  Return — Marriages 

AND  Deaths. 

OVERNOR,  Simon  Snyder.  Surveyor  General,  Andrew 
Porter,  appointed  April  4,  vice  Samuel  Cochran.  Dep- 
uty Attorney  General,  E.  G.  Bradford,  appointed  Jan- 
31  uary  19.  Prothonotary,  &c.,  Hugh  Bellas,  commissioned 
January  3.  Register  and  Recorder,  John  Frick,  commissioned  Jan- 
uary 18.  Sheriff,  Daniel  Lebo,  commissioned  October  24.  Coro- 
ner, Joseph  Lorentz,  re-commissioned  October  24.  County  Com- 
missioner elect,  Henry  Masser.  Justices  commissioned  :  Penn's, 
Joseph  Fiihrer,  February  28  ;  Mahantango,  Michael  Rathfon  and 
Philip  Burchart,  the  same  day.  Postmaster  at  Lewisburg,  William 
Hayes. 

James  Moore,  senior,  built  the  bridge  at  the  niDuth  of  Buffalo 
creek. 

Tobias  Lehman's  property  divided.  His  children  were  :  Henry, 
Barbara,  married  to  George  Baily,  Elizabeth,  married  to  John 
Freedly,  Margaret  Spidler,  Catherine,  married  to  Daniel  Nyhart, 


1809.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jyg 

Mary,  married  to  Jo'.in  Brown,  Freedly  took  the  mills  and  four 
acres  ;  John  Brown,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres  one  hundred 
and  one  parches ;  and  Nyhart  the  tract  next  Darr's,  fifty-five  acres 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  perches. 

Reverend  John  G.  Heim  became  pastor  of  the  Lutherans,  at  Dreis- 
bach's  church,  where  he  remained  until  1831. 

East  Buffalo  Additional  Residents — Aurand,  Abraham  ;  Badger, 
Joseph,  tailor ;  Boveard,  Robert ;  Brown,  Peter,  stiller ;  dinger, 
Adam ;  Gross,  Mathias ;  Hauck,  Andrew ;  Herbst,  Henry ;  Jar- 
man,  Jacob  ;  Johnston,  John,  colored  ;  Knittle,  Adam,  shoe-maker  ; 
Shamp,  Jesse;  Sheckler,  Martin,  miller;  Thompson,  Samuel; 
Thompson,  Moses;  Updyke,  Isaac;  Wise,  Henry,  shoe-maker;  Ze- 
luff,  David. 

Lewisburg — Baldwin,  Doctor  Ethan  ;  Espy,  John  ;  Nyhart,  Dan- 
iel ;   Smith,  Robert. 

White  Deer — Bellas,  Jamas;  Davis,  John,  school-teacher ;  Lan- 
dis,  Jacob,  shoe-maker ;  Smith,  William  Walker ;  Sypher,  Jacob. 

West  Buffalo — Anthony,  Henry  ;  Bergstresser,  John  ;  Bruner, 
John  ;  Caldwell,  William  ;  Hayes,  John ;  Keeply,  John ;  Koons, 
Peter  ;  Linn,  Isaac  ;  Yerger,  John. 

Mifflinburg — Auple,  Conrad ;  Haslet,  John  ;  Larabee,  A¥idow  ; 
Manly,  John ;  Millhouse,  Nicholas ;  Smelker,  Godfrey,  tavern ; 
Staple,  Conrad ;  Wolf,  Andrew ;  Young,  Christian. 

Roan's  Journal. 

14th  January.  Scholars  at  Mr.  Hood's  had  a  public  exhibition  of 
their  speaking  abilities.  Elder  Brown,  Honorable  George  Kremer, 
and  others  attended.  Sunday  29th.  Mr.  Hood's  text,  John  xiv:  6  v. 
Thirty-six  sleds  and  sleighs  at  meeting. 

February  9.  Roan,  Sally,  Becky,  and  Bob  Clark,  and  John  Eaker 
came  and  staid  all  night.  Sunday,  12th.  Saw  a  woman  putting  a 
liippen  to  her  child  during  church.  Read  twenty-two  chapters, 
verse  about,  to-night.  15th.  Maclays  and  their  connections  spent 
the  day  at  Clingan's.  i6th.  George  and  Davy  Reznor  went  to 
Easton,  with  grain,  in  sleds.  They  returned  on  the  22d.  27th. 
Billy  Clark,  Uncle  Giddy,  Wilson's,  &c.,  at  Aunt  Dale's,  in  all 
seventeen,  for  supper.     Had  two  turkeys. 


jSo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1809. 

March  i.  The  young  folks  at  Roan  McClure's.  Turkey  for  sup- 
per, and  plenty  of  cider  and  apples.  3d.  Debate  at  Mr.  Hood's 
school-house.  Question:  "  Is  a  lawyer  a  promoter  of  justice?" 
12  th,  Sunday.  No  singing  at  meeting,  as  people  cannot  agree  about 
the  psalms  and  music.  13th.  Black  Grace  free  to-day,  and  left  us. 
Seven  Methodists  dined  at  Clingan's  to-day.  15  th.  Met  Doctor 
Baldwin  at  Lewisburg  to-day.  He  is  a  Democrat,  full  of  ostenta- 
tion. 1 8th.  Mr.  McClure's  family,  Richard  Fruit  and  wife,  Judge 
Wilson  and  wife,  came  to  my  school  to-day  to  hear  the  boys  speak. 
Wednesday,  22d.  John  Linn  died  last  night.  23d.  Went  to  John 
Linn's  funeral.  Stopped  at  Baldy's,  and  wrote  a  piece  on  his  death 
for  both  papers  at  Northumberland. 

April  8.  Saw  a  clegyman,  a  Congressman,  six  esquires,  and  a 
constable  at  Billy  Poak's  to-day.  Riv^r  very  high.  Congressman 
Smith  bought  a  silk  shawl  at  Kremer's  for  Betsey  Smith.  iSth. 
Planted  the  locusts  at  Clingan's ;  got  them  down  at  Billy  Clark's. 
Eight  ministers  here,  Mr.  Wilson  of  Bellefonte,  Mr.  Bard,  &c.  19th. 
Planted  some  Lombardys.  Presbytery  in  session.  2 2d.  At  North- 
umberland; called  at  Seidel's,  Jones',  Taggart's,  Priestly's,  Welker's, 
Irwin's,  Huston's,  and  Bonham's.  Spent  the  evening  at  Reverend 
Isaac  Grier's.  He  is  a  very  friendly  man.  I  heard  Isaiah  Linn  was 
buried  to-day. 

May  7th.  Clingan  came  home  from  Lancaster.  He  had  news  of 
General  Bright's  trial,  Snyder's  ignorance,  foreign  decrees  revoked. 
He  brought  the  girls  fashionable  ear-rings.  Tommy  got  fifty  shad, 
at  Hoffman's,  sent  down  from  Lawson's.  nth.  Went  to  the  review 
at  Voneida's,  [near  Samuel  Maclay's.]  Five  hundred  and  fifty  men 
in  line,  and  a  great  many  spectators.  Any  number  of  studs.  13th. 
A  good  foot-way  made  over  the  creek,  at  my  instigation.  Got  the 
slabs  in  Derrstown.  Doctor  Beyer  and  Dan  Rees  each  gave  a 
bottle  of  whisky.  17th.  Jimmy  Thompson  building  a  barn  on  the 
Hafer  place,  for  Clingan.  20th.  Josiah  Cander  called,  with  pro- 
posals for  an  astronomical  wheel.  I  called  at  Esquire  Clark's, 
Captain  Gray's  ;  then  went  to  Derrstown,  at  Rees',  Hayes',  Poak's, 
Black's,  and  Stillwell's.  Saw  crazy  John  Maclay  at  Metzgar's.  I 
and  Sam  Awl  went  to  look  after  him.  Called  at  Baldy's,  then  at 
Captain  Robinson's  for  shirting,  and  at  Anderson's  for  lasts.  25  th. 
John  Cochran,  [surveyor  general,]  wife,  and  two  sons  at  Clingan's, 


1809.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  381 

with  Mrs.  Thompson.     29th.  Violent  storm  last  night  ;  blew  down 
trees,  and  took  the  roof  off  several  barns  and  houses. 

3d  June.  Went  to  Centre  county,  for  balm  of  Gilead  for  Roan 
Clark,  who  is  sick.  Fed  at  Wilt's,  [Narrows.]  Aaronsburg,  at  three. 
Left  with  Evans  Miles,  and  came  to  George  Wood's.  Had  psalm- 
singing,  the  old  way,  and  prayers.  He  is  a  very  religious  man. 
4th.  Called  at  Kern's.  Stopped  at  Benner's,  (old  fort.)  Then  to 
Ludwig  Reily's,  on  Hasting's  place,  where  I  got  some  leaves  and 
branches.  Stopped  at  Barber's  tavern,  and  back  to  Eaker's — twenty- 
four  miles — a  good  Sabbath-day's  journey.  5th.  Left  Aaronsburg 
with  John  Forster.  At  eleven  fed  at  Wilt's,  and  at  Youngman's  at 
five.  Stopped  at  Baldy's,  with  Holmes  and  Kimmell.  7th.  Raising 
at  Hafer's ;  sixty-eight  feet  by  thirty  wide,  forty-two  rounds  high. 
There  were  seventy  people  there.  Finished  before  night,  and  then 
had  a  sumptuous  entertainment.  12th.  Called  to  see  General  Baldy 
and  lady,  (married  last  night  to  Eve  Metzgar.)  13th.  Long  John 
Maclay  called .  He  is  from  Genessee.  20th.  Anne  Roan  Laird  here 
to-night,  getting  a  dress  for  her  name.  23d.  William  Patterson 
here  from  Lewistown.  A  social  man  and  great  talker.  28th.  Called 
at  Lawyer  Hall's,  with  Billmyer.  Dined  at  Lebo's,  with  Lawshe. 
Snyder  lost  his  suit  with  Voneida.  Judge  Yeates  called  to-night. 
Asked  me  how  I  could  live  honest,  and  be  single. 

July  I.  Called  at  Grier's,  Shannon's,  and  Irwin's'.  Sent  a  snuff- 
box to  Mrs.  Robert  Lyon.  Had  business  at  Priestly's  with  Rees 
and  Bonham.  Met  John  Hayes  at  Jones'.  6th.  Flavel  bit  by  a  snake. 
Indigo  extracted  the  poison.  13th.  Jacob  Zerbe  married  to  Miss 
Ferris.  Mr.  Hood  called  on  the  way  home,  and  craddled  all  after- 
noon. He  is  very  jocose,  and  good  company.  2 2d.  Went  to 
Giddy  Smith's,  and  read  a  play;  then  crossed  the  creek  to  Hudson's, 
[Cameron's  place  now.]  30th.  Ensign  Seeley  and  others,  from 
Sunbury,  at  meeting  to-day.  Clingan  came  home  by  Derrstown,  to 
attend  christening  of  Graham's  children.  31st.  I  am  forty-nine 
years  old  to-day. 

August  I.  Clingan  had  six  hundred  dozen  on  the  Hafer  place, 
one  thousand  at  home,  and  not  a  quart  of  whisky  drank  in  all  hay- 
ing and  harvesting.  2d.  James  Dougal  commenced  at  the  Latin 
school.  3d.  Fishing  with  Mr.  Hood.  8th.  Mrs.  Nevius  had  a  young 
son.     9th.  Mr.  Potter's  son  came  to  the  Latin  school  at  Mr.  Hood's. 


j82  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1809. 

[W.  W.  Potter,  Esquire.]  14th.  Mr.  Hood  gave  us  Caul  Kail  pet, 
II  Peter,  i :  5,  6,  7.  Commenced  to  rain  as  the  sermon  closed,  and 
we  were  kept  there  two  hours.  15th.  Stahl  had  his  barn  burned 
with  lightning,  yesterday.  Two  horses  killed.  i6th.  At  Derrs- 
town.  Went  with  Cremer  to  Methodist  meeting.  Hamer  squeezing 
Nancy  McDonald  behind  the  stove.  Returned  and  slept  with  Kre- 
mer.  23d.  Jamy  Wilson  hauled  the  stuff  for  the  fence  at  my  school- 
house,  and  Cherry  put  it  up.  Sent  Joseph  Wallis  for  another  bottle 
of  whisky  for  him.  27th.  Tommy  and  sister,  James  McClellan, 
Ruth  Thompson,  and  others,  went  to  church.  At  the  river,  men 
rode  over  and  the  women  were  ferried  at  Milton.  Met  a  great  com- 
pany, and  went  on  to  Warrior  Run.  Mr.  Bryson  preached  in  the  fore- 
noon. Two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  communicants.  Mr.  Hood 
gave  us  C.  K.  p.,  11  Peter,  i:  5,  6,  and  7.  Mr.  Nesbit  asked  my 
advice  about  marrying.  30th.  Referees  sitting  at  Sunbury,  on  suit 
Snyder  and  Drum.  Sat  up  until  midnight,  talking  with  Esquire  ■ 
Maus.  31st.  Rode  out  to  see  John  Cooke.  Drank  cider  royal  at 
Shriner's.  Dined  at  Reverend  Grier's.  Gave  Eliza  a  copy  of  an 
enigma.  Carried  widow  Allison  on  behind  me  part  of  the  way 
home.     Took  a  drink  at  Lawshe's. 

September    2.   Rode  with  McEwen  to   Alexander    Griffey's,  on 
electioneering  business.     Went  over  the  Muncy  hills  with  Umbrella 
Hayes,   whom   I   met  at   Shannon's.      Stopped   at  Frederick's,  in 
Pennsboro'.     Met  with  Mrs.  Pott's  son-in-law,  Fiester,  and  carrie 
him  home  with  me  on  the  horse,  three  miles.     3d.   Went  to  Shoe 
maker's  mills.     Called  on  Robert  Robb.     He  is  eighty  two;  his  wife, 
seventy.     Went  to  Williamsport.      Fed  at  Mrs.  Moore's,  then  to! 
Jaysburg,  to  Mrs.  Dunlap's.     Called  to  see  John  Davis  and  wife 
She  is  a  great  Baptist.     4th.  Went  to  James  Stewart's,  from  that  t 
Esquire  Salmon's ;  then  to  Larry's  creek,  at  John  Thomas'  ;  to  She-i 
rer's,  at  Jersey  Shore.     Called  to  see  Lawshe,  and  then  to  Morri 
son's,  at  Pine  creek.     5  th.  Drank  tea  at  Boyd  Smith's.     Great  ball 
at  Wilson's.     Judge  Cooper  and  Mrs.  deGruchy  led  off  the  dance 
Doctor  Baldwin  and  wife  there.     21st.  The  Governor's  carriage  in 
Derrstown,  with  PVed  Evans.     They  brought  citizen  Kremer  home 
in  great  pomp.     30th.  Called  on  D.  Smith,  Esquire.    He  promise 
to  attend  to  my  business,  but  got  into  company,  and  soon  got  past! 
business. 


1809.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  3S3 

October  19.  The  Governor's  son,  Prince  John  of  the  Isle  of 
Que,  commenced  school  with  me.  29th.  Colonel  Chamberlin's  wife 
had  a  young  son,  his  twenty-third.  He  is  above  seventy-three  years, 
I  believe. 

November  3.  Clerked  at  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  vendue  all  day.  Con- 
tinued over  until  to-morrow.  Went  to  bed  with  the  cryer  and  Der- 
rickson.  Four  ladies  and  a  child  slept  in  a  bed  in  the  same 
room.  7th.  D.  Reasoner  married  to  Miss  Hamil.  i6th.  Clerked  at 
Lawshe's  vendue.  Spent  a  high  old  night.  Four  from  Milton,  three 
from  Northumberland,  and  the  sheriff  full  of  mischief,  not  drunk. 
Markley  cried  the  sale.  21st.  Sunbury  court.  Peter  Smith's  wife 
fined  one  dollar  for  flogging  Miss  Adams.  Esquire  Youngman  one 
cent  for  whipping  Doctor  Smith.  23d.  At  Shaffer's  for  breakfast 
this  morning.  Billy  Covert  and  two  other  shoe-makers  working  at 
Clingan's.  "  [By  the  custom  of  that  day,  shoe-makers  and  tailors  went 
to  the  houses  of  their  employers.]  The  shoe-makers  made  thirteen 
pairs  shoes,  at  as.  6d.  per  pair.  30th.  •  At  Dale's.  Met  Colonel  S. 
Dale  on  his  way  to  the  Assembly.  [He  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Dale, 
deceased,  and  represented  Mercer  and  Venango.] 

2d  December.  Went  with  Roan  Clark  and  James  Forster's  son, 
John,  to  Billy  Forster's.  Met  Captain  John  Wilson  there.  Had 
eleven  sorts  of  diet  for  supper.  5  th.  Got  my  shoes  mended  at  Mr. 
Espy's,  in  Derrstown.  A  dose  of  salts  at  Doctor  Beyers'.  loth.  Mr. 
Hood's  text,  Ecclesiastes,  xi :  19-20.  13th.  I  gave  one  Meloner  a 
certificate  that  he  was  taken  prisoner  with  me  on  shipboard.  17th. 
At  Derrstown,  heard  Kremer  tell  of  arresting  Langs  for  passing 
counterfeit  money  at  four  taverns  and  two  stores.  i8th.  Eight 
strangers  at  supper.  19th.  George,  Tommy  Scott,  and  Allison  went 
to  Colonel  Kelly's.  A  quilting  party  there.  Plenty  of  rye  there. 
Mr.  Allison,  a  spark  of  Betsey  Kelly's.  25th.  Christmas — very  quiet. 
Met  some  Penn's  valley  folks,  Billy  Clark,  and  gentry,  going  to 
George's  to  spend  the  evening.  27th.  Walter  Clark  called,  and 
took  George  along  to  a  "  kicking  frolic  ".  [Old  settlers  well  know 
what  that  means.]  28th.  Party  at  Mr.  Hood's.  McClures,  How- 
ards, &c.,  there.  Two  turkeys  and  twelve  sorts  of  diet.  30th.  At 
Milton.  Called  at  D.  Smith's,  McKisson's,  Donaldson's,  McCann's, 
Calhoun's,  on  Hannah  Rees.  Dined  at  Doctor  Dougal's,  with  Sam 
Hood.     31st.  General  Baldy's  wife  has  a  young  son. 


384  AhNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1809. 


Marriages. 

January  4,  Henry  Grove  with  Hannah  Leisenring,  of  Lewisburg, 
(by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,)  in  presence  of  his  three  brothers,  John, 
Samuel,  and  Frank,  two  sisters,  Betsey  and  Sarah,  &c. 

January  8,  by  same,  Philip  Frederick  with  Christena  Brown,  in 
presence  of  John  Brown  and  wife,  T.  Sheckler  and  wife,  Peter  Brown 
and  wife,  Abraham  Brown,  George  Frederick. 

April  II,  by  A.  McLanachan,  Esquire,  John  Vandyke  to  Miss 
Margaret  Adams,  both  of  White  Deer. 

April  13,  by  same,  John  Ranck  to  Miss  Nancy  Luther. 

June  II,  by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  General  Christopher  Baldy 
with  Eve  Metzgar. 

June  28,  by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  Joseph  Bovver  with  Susanna 
Machamer. 

July  25,  by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  Lawrence  Martin  with  Polly 
Juge. 

August  31,  Robert  Montgomery  with  Nancy  Knox,  in  presence 
of  her  father,  George  Knox,  her  brother,  James,  and  sister.  Bell,  (by 
Henry  Spyker,  Esquire.) 

On  Tuesday,  the  12th  October,  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Deffen- 
baugh,  Mr.  John  Sierer,  aged  sixty-five,  to  the  amiable  Miss  Louisa 
McMillan,  aged  nineteen,  both  of  Buffalo  ;  and  on  Thursday,  the 
2ist  ultimo,  by  Esquire  Hamilton,  Mr.  George  Knox,  of  Derrstown, 
to  Miss  Jane  Mcllroy,  near  Pine  Creek. 

Deaths. 

Tuesday,  21st  March,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  John 
Linn,  of  White  Deer  township,  of  pleurisy,  on  the  tenth  day  of  his 
sickness.  He  was  buried  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads,  on  the  Thursday 
following.  The  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  people. 
He  was  an  inhabitant  of  this  county  upwards  of  thirty-six  years,  and 
twenty-one  years  an  elder  of  Buffalo  church,  and  principal  clerk, 
conducting  the  music.  He  came  into  the  Valley  in  1772,  and  en- 
dured the  hardships  incident  to  the  early  settlement  of  the  country, 
frequently  sleeping  on  his  cabin  floor,  with  a  bag  of  grain  for  a 
pillow,  and  his  rifle  by  his  side.     During  the  year  1779,  while  off 


1809.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  385 

on  a  tour  of  service,  his  cabin  was  spoiled  by  the  Indians.  He  was 
married  by  his  brother,  Reverend  Doctor  WiUiam  Linn,  to  Ann 
Fleming,  of  Middleton  township,  near  Carlisle.  She  was  of  the 
Fleming  family,  of  Chester  county.  Her  ancestor,  William  Fleming, 
came  over  before  1714,  and  settled  in  Cain  township,  in  Chester 
county.  From  there,  his  descendants  moved  up  to  Cumberland 
and  Northumberland  counties.  John  Linn's  children  were  :  Susan, 
married  to  William  Thompson,  (son  of  Captain  James,)  in  1804, 
and  shortly  after  removed  to  Venango  county ;  Ann,  married  to 
Andrew  McBeth,  a  son  of  John  McBeth,  of  Aaronsburg,  died  at 
Greencastle,  Indiana,  October  1873,  a^ged  eighty-six;  William 
Linn,  who  moved  to  Miami  county,  Ohio,  died  there,  October  26, 
1834.  John  Linn,  married  to  Mary  F.,  daughter  of  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Chamberlin.  He  resides  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio.  Margaret 
Linn,  married  to  Joseph  McCalmont,  of  Venango  county,  died 
February  7,  1873.  The  late  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire,  of  Lewisburg, 
who  died  October  8,  1869,  aged  sixty-seven,  and  Jemima  Linn, 
who  died  April  17,  1873. 

Doctor  William  Kent  Lathy,  of  Northumberland,  July  28. 

August  10,  Mathew  Huston,  qi^\\.ox  oi  Argus ,  aged  fifty-one  years. 
He  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolution,  participated  in  the  battles  of 
White  Plains,  Trenton,  Princeton,  Brandywine,  and  Germantown. 
Afterwards  representative  of  the  county  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  six 
times  elected  clerk  of  the  House.  Father  of  the  late  Mrs.  Hannah 
Taggert,  of  Northumberland,  and  of  Andrew  C.  Huston,  Esquire. 

Albright  Swineford  died.  His  children  were  :  Catherine  Cum- 
mings,  (wife  of  John,  senior,  and  mother  of  John  J.,)  George,  Mi- 
chael, Peter,  and  Jacob. 

Adam  Ranck,  of  White  Deer.  Children  :  Rachel,  John,  Daniel, 
Noah,  Mary,  and  Adam,  junior. 

Conrad  Reedy,  of  Buffalo.     Children  :  John  and  Jacob. 

John  Beatty. 

October  22,  Colonel  John  Clarke,  aged  seventy-three.  He  is 
buried  in  the  Lewis  grave-yard.  His  children  were  :  Jane,  wife  of 
David  Watson,  (mother  of  John  C,  William,  and  David  Watson;) 
Joseph  Clarke,  who  had  two  children,  William  and  Grace. 

October  6,  Mary  Hutchinson,  of  White  Deer  township,  aged  sixty- 
seven,  thirty-six  years  a  resident  of  the  Valley.     Children  :  Sarah, 
25 


386  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1810. 


wife  of  James  Cornelius ;  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Criswell,  (mother  of  James, 
of  Lewisburg.) 

John  Swineford.  Children  :  John,  Mary,  married  to  Jacob  Foltz ; 
Margaret,  with  George  Snyder  ;  vSusanna,  with  Jacob  Fryer ;  Eliza- 
beth, with  John  Smith;  Catherine,  with  John  Aurand ;  Jacob,  and 
Albright. 


1810. 


Counterfeiters    Arrested — Langs'    Suicide — Daniel    Doudle — Roan's 
Journal — Notice  of  Nathan  Evans. 

ENATOR,  James  Laird.  Representatives,  John  Murray, 
Jared  Irwin,  Leonard  Rupert,  Frederick  Evans,  elected 
in  October.  Treasurer,  David  Taggert.  Commissioner 
elect,  Joseph  Gaston.  Commissioners'  Clerk,  Nathan 
Patton.  Postmaster  at  Mifflinburg,  Thomas  Youngman.  Henry 
Yearick  commissioned  Justice  of  the  Peace,  June  4. 

Passing  counterfeit  money  seems  a  very  prevalent  offense.  Doctor 
Thomas  Barrett,  of  Danville,  convicted.  George  Langs  and  Jared 
Langs  also.  Barrett  made  his  escape  from  jail  at  Sunbury.  Sheriff 
Lebo  was  complained  of  for  his  negligence  with  prisoners.  At  April 
term  (20th)  George  Langs  received  his  sentence.  He  bowed  to  the 
court,  and  retired.  The  next  morning  his  daughter  called  on  him. 
He  asked  her  to  withdraw  a  little  while,  and  about  one  hour  after- 
wards he  was  found  hanging  on  an  iron  bed,  near  the  door  of  his 
room.  He  was  convicted  of  passing  a  counterfeit  $20  note  upon 
John  Sargent,  of  Lewisburg. 

Additional  Residents  East  Buffalo — Bird,  John  and  William  ; 
Brewer,  Matthew ;  Brewer,  Thomas ;  Clements,  Michael ;  Gross, 
Jacob,  carpenter ;  Hahn,  Andrew;  Kreisher,  Henry ;  Lilly,  Peter; 
Slear,  Charles ;   Zellers,  George. 


1810.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  j8j 

Lewisburg — Bower,  Joseph;  Gordon,  John  B.,  dyer;  Hutchin- 
son, Alexander;  McClure,  Matthew;  Pross,  John.  November. lo, 
McQuhae  and  Hepburn  opened  a  new  store. 

New  Berlin — Kessler,  WiUiam  ;  Shout,  John;  Sproul,  James. 
merchant. 

White  Deer — Caldwell,  Daniel ;  Dieffenbach,  Adam  ;  Eyer,  Dan- 
iel;  Guyer,John;  Haas,  Peter;  Huff,  Thomas;  McKisson,  James, 
single ;  Reed,  Robert. 

West  Buffalo — Beidelman,  Valentine ;  Bilman,  Dewalt;  Braucher, 
Christian  ;   Deal,  John,  carpenter ;  Wright,  John. 

Mifflinburg — Montelius,  John.  John  Bergstresser  bought  Henry 
Snyder's  mill  on  Rapid  run.     The  latter  probably  died  this  year. 

Daniel  Doudte. 

Daniel  Doudle  was  an  acquaintance  of  Governor  Snyder  in  his 
boyhood,  and  in  maturer  years  he  would  sometimes  pay  the  Gover- 
nor a  visit,  at  Selinsgrove,  and  thus  formed  acquaintance  with  George 
Kremer.  After  George  moved  to  Derrstown,  and  established  him- 
self in  business  and  a  bachelor's  hall  there,  Daniel  extended  his  visits 
thither,  and  became  so  much  pleased  that  he  resolved  to  forsake  York 
altogether,  and  remain  with  George.  Accordingly,  he  sent  for  his 
money,  a  considerable  stock  of  dollars,  and  took  up  his  abode  in 
Derrstown.  He  and  George  agreed  very  well,  for  George  humored 
him  in  all  his  whims,  but  he  quarreled  sadly  with  old  Peggy  ]^^iller, 
the  housekeeper.  Sometimes  he  would  come  in  a  towering  passion 
to  George,  with  "Now,  George,  I  can't  live  with  the  old  devil  any 
longer.  Just  send  me  off  to  Selinsgrove,  to  Simon,  and  he  will  send 
me  to  York."  "Well,  well,"  said  George,  "Roan  (Clark)  or  John 
shall  take  you  and  your  money  in  the  cart  to  Sehnsgrove  as  soon  as 
you  like."  "Do  you  think,"  Daniel  would  reply,  "I  would  trust 
myself  with  the  damned  rascals?  They  would  murder  me  for  my 
money  before  we  got  halfway  to  Selinsgrove."  Then  an  argument 
would  commence  on  the  honesty  of  Roan  and  John,  which  generally 
lasted  until  Daniel,  in  his  rage  against  these  two,  had  forgotten  his 
wrath  toward  old  Peggy.  At  length,  Daniel  fell  into  the  hands  of 
an  old  Methodist  woman,  who,  by  her  exhortations,  made  consider- 
able impression  on  him.     After  spending  an  evening  at  Mother 


S88  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  FALLEY.  [1810. 

Grove's,  Daniel  came  home  with  a  face  so  solemn  and  important 
that  the  whole  family  noticed  it,  and,  knowing  where  he  had  been, 
the  clerks  followed  him  on  his  retreat  to  bed,  and  peeped  and  listened 
at  his  door.  Daniel  locked  his  door,  looked  carefully  around, 
undressed,  (taking  off  his  hat  the  last  of  all,  as  was  his  custom,) 
kneeled  by  the  bedside,  and  commenced  thus:  "  O,  Lord  God;  " 
then  ensued  a  long  pause.  Up  rose  Daniel,  exclaiming  "It  is  too 
damned  cold  to  pray  here !  "  and  jumped  into  bed.  Whether  Dan- 
iel made  another  effort  to  pray  is  uncertain.  He  once  acted  god- 
father for  one  of  his  friend's  children.  The  clergyman  asked  the 
name  of  the  child.  Daniel,  understanding  him  to  ask  his  name, 
promptly  replied :  "Daniel  Doudle,  to  be  sure.  Don't  you  know 
me  any  more?"  Daniel,  at  this  time  eighty  years  of  age,  usually 
dressed  himself  once  a  day  in  state,  in  a  blue  silk-velvet  coat,  white 
vest,  ruffled  shirt,  brown  silk-velvet  small-clothes,  and  turnfed-up 
shoes,  and  paraded  himself  down  to  the  river  bank  and  back,  to 
exhibit  himself  to*  the  ladies.  He  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  one 
or  one  hundred  and  two  years  of  age,  dying  in  August,  1828,  at 
Mr.  Kremer's,  near  Middleburg,  where  his  bones  rest  with  those  of 
his  friends,  Frederick  Evans  and  George  Kremer.  Certainly  three 
more  singular  men  were  never  so  intimately  associated  in  life  and 
rest  so  close  together  in  the  solemn  silence  of  death. 

Among  other  characters  of  this  date,  were  Billy  Nicholas,  a  car- 
penter of  White  Deer,  and  old  Mr.  Mook,  the  revolutionary  soldier. 
Saturday  was  the  usual  day  to  assemble  in  Lewisburg,  and  getting 
pretty  drunk,  old  Mook  asserted  he  could  "  hex  a  bullet"  at  an  hun- 
dred yards.  Mook  held  a  silver  bullet  in  his  hand  and  began  pow- 
wowing. Billy  shot  from  the  porch  of  Metzgar's  tavern,  knocked 
the  bullet  out  of  Mook's  finger,  skinning  the  latter  considerably, 
thus  disabusing  Mook's  mind  of  the  idea  that  he  could  "hex." 

Roan's  Journal. 

January  23.  T.  Clingan  had  a  water-smeller,  to  find  where  he 
should  put  the  well  on  his  place.  Grand  ball  at  Baldy's.  Poaks 
and  a  number  from  Milton  there.  24th.  Rees'  vendue  at  Derrs- 
town. 

April  8.    T.  Clingan,  Wilson  Smith,  and  I  went  to  Daniel  Smith's 


1810.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  l^ALLEY.  389 

funeral ;  eighteen  chairs  and  carriages ;  one  hundred  and  twenty  on 
horseback.  14th.  Planted  two  Lombard ys  at  tlie  school-house.  Met 
Mr.  Coryell  at  Poak's.  He  brought  his  family  from  Williamsport 
in  a  canoe.  1 7th.  Review  day.  Seven  hundred  on  parade  at  Derrs- 
town. 

June  2.  Hoffman  sold  his  place  to  one  Boal.  3d.  At  Chillis- 
quaque  grave-yard.  Saw  Dan  Smith's  grave.  4th.  I  dreamed 
Dan  Smith  came  to  life,  and  exhorted  us  to  "  remember  our  Creator 
in  the  days  of  our  youth."  Hail  storm  broke  a  great  quantity  of 
glass  at  Derrstovvn.  5  th.  George  Clark  left  for  the  State  of  Ohio, 
nth.  John  Clark  died.  12th.  Fair  at  Sunbury.  i8th.  General 
Baldy's  flitting  in  town.  Moving  to  Cayuga  lake.  2 2d.  Fast  day. 
Clerked  at  the  election  of  elders.  23d.  Mr.  Grier  ordained  four 
elders. 

July  3.  Rode  with  Adam  Smith  to  Centre  county.  Stopped  at 
Wilt's  and  fed  at  Miles',  at  Aaronsburg.  4th.  Met  Esquire  Woods, 
Barbers,  and  a  great  company  at  Gregg's.  5  th.  At  Mrs.  Van  Horn's, 
a  very  fashionable  old  lady.  Dined  at  James  Potter's,  with  Doctor 
Dobbins.  6th.  Saw  the  grave  Nuby  was  stolen  from.  27th.  Fair 
at  Derrstown.  29th.  Buffalo  creek  higher  than  it  has  been  for  twenty 
years.  Mr.  Hood  could  not  attend  church.  Hudson's  surrounded. 
August  2d.  Esquires  Hall,  Evans,  Albright,  and  Maclay  at  an 
audit,  in  Derrstown.  9th.  Black  Judy  came  to  wash.  24th.  Met 
John  Hayes  and  his  brother,  Patrick,  at  Esquire  Gray's.  31st. 
Thirty  bills  for  bastardy  before  the  grand  jury. 

September  6th.  Robert  Boveard  married  to  Hugh  Wilson's  daugh- 
ter, the  amiable  Miss  Peggy. 

October  4th.  Mr.  Priestly  got  Clingan's  carriage  to  carry  his 
family  to  Philadelphia,  on  their  way  to  England.  9th.  Clerked  at. 
the  election,  at  Derrstown.  One  hundred  and  forty-eight  votes 
polled.  George  Smith  candidate  for  Congress ;  no  opposition. 
James  Laird  vs.  A.  McKinney  for  Senate ;  Laird  elected.  Candi- 
dates for  Assembly,  John  Murray,  Fred  Evans,  Jarad  Irwin,  Leon- 
ard Rupert,  D.  Montgomery,  and  Samuel  Maclay.  Commissioners, 
George  Holstein  and  Flavel  Roan.  13th.  I  have  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-six  majority  for  commissioner.  14th.  Hugh  McLaugh- 
lin's wife  buried.  i6th.  Battalion  at  Derrstovvn.  Sergeant  and 
James  Patterson  had  a  box.     Great  dinner  at  Billmyer's. 


390  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1810. 

November  nth.  Esquire  Harding  here,  on  his  way  from  Luzerne 
county  to  Kentucky.  His  horse  got  lame ;  they  killed  a  cat  and 
put  it  to  his  foot. 

December  3d.  Doctor  Dougal  dissected  black  Tom,  and  made  an 
anatomy  of  him.  i8th.  Went  to  Esquire  Gray's  to  see  Samuel 
Hutchinson  married  to  Jenny  Wallace.  Groom  did  not  come.  I 
went  up  to  Hoffman's  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  He  could  not 
cross  for  ice.     Came  down  in  a  sleigh  to  Nesbit's,  and  crossed  there. 

Marriages. 

March  13,  Moses  Bower  with  Catherine  Moyer,  daughter  of  Philip, 
in  presence  of  her  brother,  Peter,  John  Fulmer  and  wife.  March  15, 
Joel  Ranck  with  Sarah  Long,  daughter  of  Joseph,  in  presence  of  his 
father,  John  Ranck.  May  27,  George  Bower  with  Polly  Smith, 
daughter  of  Michael,  deceased.  August  26,  Sunday,  Anthony  Selin, 
of  Selinsgrove,  to  Miss  Catherine  Yoner,  of  Sunbury.  Same  day, 
Conrad  Weiser  to  Elizabeth  Snyder,  both  of  Penn  township.  Octo- 
ber 7,  Philip  Stahl  with  Susanna  Spotz.  October  9,  William  High- 
land with  Mary  Gann,  widow  of  Christian.  November  11,  Michael 
Meyer  with  Sarah  Kelley.  December  13,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood, 
Washington  Dunn,  of  Lycoming  county,  to  Miss  Betsy  Musser,  of 
White  Deer.  December  18,  by  Reverend  Mr.  Patterson,  Samuel 
Hutchinson,  of  Derry,  to  Mrs.  Jenny  Wallace,  daughter  of  Captain 
William  Gray,  White  Deer. 

Deaihs. 

April  6,  at  his  seat,  at  Milton,  aged  forty-five,  Daniel  Smith, 
Esquire,  attorney-at-law.  Left  a  widow,  Cassandra.  Children  : 
Samuel,  Jasper,  and  Grace.  He  was  buried  at  Chillisquaque  grave- 
yard. July  7,  Alexander  Hunter,  former  treasurer  of  the  county. 
Joseph  J.  Wallis,  deputy  surveyor.  Peter  Getz,  East  Buffalo.  July 
4,  John  Weirick.  Children  :  William,  Sarah,  and  John.  October 
15,  Albright  Swineford,  born  February  16,  1728.  Henry  Myers, 
West  Buffalo.  Children  :  Henry,  Daniel,  Valentine,  William,  John, 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Royer,  Mary,  and  Eve  Maria.  Joseph  Ultz,  West 
Buffalo.      November  — ,  Thomas  Forster,  of  West  Buffalo.     Left 


1811.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jgr 

widow,  Jane.     Children :  John,  William,  Thomas,  Mary,  and  Eliz- 
abeth Jane. 

Nathan  Evans  died  this  year,  and  his  widow  removed  to  Bucks 
county  with  his  family.  He  was  an  active  christian,  and  he  and  his 
wife  were  Baptists.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  preaching  at  Baptist 
meetings,  although  not  a  clergyman.  His  granddaughter,  Mrs. 
Professor  C.  S.  James,  of  Lewisburg,  has  in  her  possession  many 
abstracts  of  his  sermons,  preached  in  the  Valley. 


1811. 


Hartley  Township  Erected — Presbytery  of  NoRTiiniBERLAXD  Formed 
— Impeachment  of  Judge  Cooper— Reverend  Yost  Henry  Fries — 
Death  of  Honorable  Samuel  Maclay.  and  Xotice  of  his  Family-. 

EMBER  of  Congress,  George  Smith.  Senator,  James 
Laird.  Members  elected  in  October,  Samuel  Bond,  Ja- 
red  Irwin,  Andrew  McClenachan,  and  Frederick  Evans. 
President  Judge,  Seth  Chapman,  commissioned  July  11. 
Register  and  Recorder,  John  L.  Finney,  commissioned  April  3. 
County  Commissioner  elect,  Flavel  Roan. 

April  sessions,  Robert  Barber,  John  Wilson,  and  Peter  Fisher 
reported  favorably  to  the  erection  of  a  new  township,  to  be  called 
Hartley,  by  the  following  boundaries :  Beginning  on  the  line  be- 
tween West  Buffalo  and  Washington  townships ;  thence  along  the 
same  to  the  four-mile  tree,  on  Reuben  Haines'  road,  on  the  line  of 
Centre  county ;  thence  south  along  said  line,  across  Penn's  creek, 
to  the  top  of  Jack's  mountain  ;  thence  along  the  summit,  to  a  point 
south  of  where  Adam  Laughlin  formerly  lived ;  thence  north  across 
Penn's  creek,  and  by  a  line  of  marked  trees,  to  the  beginning. 

By  a  resolution  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  May  16,  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Northumberland  was  set  off  from  that  of  Huntingdon  by 


3<)2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1811. 

the  following  line  :  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Mahantango  creek,  a 
north-west  course  to  the  west  branch  of  the  Centre  and  Lycoming 
county  lines,  leaving  eastward  Reverends  Asa  Dunham,  John  Bryson, 
Isaac  Grier,  John  B.  Patterson,  Thomas  Hood,  and  their  respective 
charges,  and  the  vacant  charges  of  Great  Island,  Pine  Creek,  and 
Lycoming. 

Additional  Residents  of  West  Buffalo — Aikey,  Lewis;  Beaucher, 
Jacob  ;  Orwig,  Jacob  ;  Schnure,  Christian  ;  John  Bergstresser,  taxed 
with  oil  and  fulling-mills. 

Mifflinburg — Clark,  Roan,  merchant ;  Wallis,  Doctor  Thomas. 

White  Deer — Boal,  John;  Covert,  Isaac,  ferry  at  Caldwell's; 
Davis,  Stephen,  miller  at  Dan  Caldwell's ;  DeHaven,  Jacob,  shoe- 
maker, on  Roan  McClure's  place  ;  Heitzman,  Jacob ;  Leiser,  Jacob ; 
Mervine,  Samuel,  brick-maker  ;   Sypher,  Peter;  Williman,  Thomas. 

Additional  Residents  in  East  Buffalo — Albertson,  John,  Jenkins' 
place  ;  Betz,  John  ;  Beaver,  Peter ;  Brown,  Abraham  ;  Dieffenbach, 
John  ;  Hafer,  Michael,  at  Hugh  Wilson's ;  Hamilton,  Francis  ; 
Hentzleman,  George;  Highlands,  William;  Howard,  George; 
Kreechbaum,  Peter,  junior  ;  Kremer,  Charles  ;  Leiby,  Jacob  ;  Lytle, 
Samuel;  McCrea,  Robert,  shoe-maker;  McDonnel,  John,  weaver 
at  Jenkins' ;  McFadden,  John,  tailor  ;  Newman,  Michael ;  Newman, 
John;  Phillips,  George  ;  Shannon,  Joseph  ;  Shirtz,  William,  weaver; 
Smalley,  Abraham. 

Lewisburg — Collins,  Joseph,  tailor  ;  Donaldson,  Robert ;  Evans 
&  Kremer,  store ;  Kemerer,  Charles,  tailor  ;  Langs,  Widow ;  Mc- 
Quhae,  William;   Miller,  Andrew;    Wilson,  William,  store-keeper. 

New  Berlin — Charleton,  James  ;  Dennis,  Jacob,  blacksmith  ; 
Dennis,  John,  junior,  cordwainer  ;  Hubler,  Abraham,  weaver  ;  Yost, 
Casper. 

Improvements — Daniel  Clarke,  tan-yard  in  White  Deer. 

Domestic  Incidenis. 

Uriah  Silsby  commenced  singing  schools  in  the  Valley. 

January  i6.  An  article  appears  in  the  Argus  in  favor  of  the 
division  of  the  county.  The  distance  the  people  have  to  travel,  the 
expense  of  ferriage  over  the  river,  then  an  appeal  to  the  pocket  on 
account  of  the  expense  of  ornamenting  the  town  of  Sunbury.  Ap- 
propriation  for  a  fire  engine  there.     An  appropriation   that  was 


1811.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jgj 

urged  for  the  building  of  fire-proof  buildings  for  the  records.  This 
was  the  entering  wedge  of  the  erection  of  Union  county.  In  the 
succeeding  paper  was  a  strong  argument,  founded  on  increase  of  the 
value  of  property  in  the  new  county.  Nearer  market  for  purchase. 
Facility  of  reaching  the  county  seat.  Saving  of  expense  of  court 
trials. 

From  Diary  of  James  McGlellan,  Esquire. 

April  9.  Had  my  house  and  barn  consumed  by  fire.  Lost  grain, 
meat,  and  everything  but  a  little  flour.  Happened  between  ten  and 
eleven,  a.  m.  Received  the  same  evening,  of  John  Rangier,  two 
loaves  of  bread,  a  shoulder,  potatoes,  cabbage,  &c.  James  Thomp- 
son, a  bag  of  corn  and  hay;  Joshua  Ewing,  bag  of  corn,  &c.  Next 
day,  of  William  Irwin,  Esquire,  bag  corn,  two  bushels  wheat,  load 
of  hay.  Matthew  Irwin,  dry  peaches,  wheat,  &c.  William  Clin- 
gan,  wheat  and  rye,  and  other  articles  from  John  Frantz,  Jacob 
Reedy,  Jacob  Dunkle,  Martin  Dreisbach,  Jacob  Hinely,  John  Stahl, 
John  Kelly,  William  Dunkle,  Samuel  Templeton,  Mrs.  Linn, 
Samuel  Sterret,  John  Baker,  Jacob  Baber,  David  Watson,  Peter 
Dunkle,  John  Kaufman,  Thomas  Howard,  Hugh  Wilson,  William 
Hayes,  James  Magee.  Reverend  Isaac  Grier,  Academy  at  North- 
umberland, the  educational  point.  Latin  and  Greek  languages 
taught  for  ^24  per  annum. 

77?^  /mpeachmenf  of  Judge  Cooper. 

The  first  charge  against  him  was  fining  persons  and  immuring 
then  in  prison  for  whispering  in  court.  Cooper's  reply  was,  one 
Hollister,  a  constable,  was  merely  given  in  custody  of  the  sheriff 
one  hour,  until  the  disposal  of  a  case,  and  then  fined  $2.  This  was 
at  Wilkesbarre,  in  1807. 

Second  charge.  Imprisoning  a  respectable  citizen  for  wearing  a 
hat,  in  conformity  with  a  religious  habit.  Cooper  replies  that  he 
did  not  recollect  the  circumstances  exactly,  and  presented  the  affi- 
davit of  Doctor  James  Dougal,  who  says  he  was  present  in  court, 
and  on  account  of  the  confusion  and  deafening  noise  there  was  for- 
merly in  court,  he  recollected  the  circumstances  vividly.  John 
Hanna  was  standing  close  to  the  bar,  with  his  hat  on.     A  young 


394  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1811. 

looking  man  stood  behind  him,  with  his  hat  on  also.  Judge  Cooper 
arose  and  said :  I  will  thank  you,  Mr.  Hanna,  to  tell  that  young 
man  to  take  his  hat  off.  The  young  man  walked  awa)'.  Judge 
Cooper  waited  a  little  while,  and  then  said  to  Mr.  Hanna :  1  will 
thank  you  to  pull  off  your  own.  Hanna  made  no  reply.  The 
judge  repeated  the  request.  Hanna  replied  in  a  coarse,  low  voice, 
which  I  could  not  hear  distinctly,  but  I  thought  he  said,  if  you  want 
it  off,  take  it  off  yourself.  The  judge  then  said,  this  is  not  a  wor- 
shiping assembly,  nor  a  play-house,  nor  a  dance-house.  Is  a  court 
of  justice  entitled  to  less  respect  than  any  of  these  places  ?  And 
then  requested  him  again.  On  Hanna  making  the  same  reply,  I 
believe,  as  above,  the  judge  said :  Sheriff,  take  this  man  to  jail. 
The  sheriff  took  Mr.  Hanna  by  the  hand  and  they  both  walked  off. 
Judge  Cooper  then  states  that  Hanna  lived  at  Northumberland,  and 
was  an  old  neighbor.  He  had  never  heard  or  suspected  that  he  had 
any  scruples  on  the  point ;  that  he  asked  him  when  he  came  to  fine 
him,  whether  he  was  a  Quaker,  and  he  said  not ;  then  whether  he 
had  any  religious  scruples  on  the  subject,  he  said  yes.  I  then  said, 
if  he  had  said  so,  that  would  have  been  sufficient  to  entitle  him  to 
keep  his  hat  on.^ 

Third  charge.  After  sentencing  a  felon,  calling  him  from  prison, 
and  pronouncing  a  second  sentence,  increasing  the  penalty.  This 
referred  to  the  case  of  young  Gough,  a  horse-thief,  convicted  at 
Wilkesbarre.  The  court  sentenced  him  to  twelve  months,  he  having 
plead  guilty.  The  next  morning,  Judges  Hollenbach  and  Fell  in- 
formed Judge  Cooper  they  had  understood  he  was  an  old  offender. 
I  gave  it  as  my  opinion,  says  Judge  Cooper,  that  during  the  ses- 
sions, the  judgments  were  in  the  power  of  the  court,  and  subject  to 
revisal.     He  was  re-sentenced  to  three  years. 

Fourth  charge.     That  he  has  decided  important  causes  in  which 

>  It  is  not  many  years  sinco  the  courts  in  Clearfield  county  were  also  hard  to  keep  in 
hand.  The  folks  stood  around,  as  Judge  G.  W.  Woodward  said,  like  people  in  an 
auction-room.  When  the  Honorable  James  Uurnsidc  held  his  first  court  there,  the 
people  ero\vde<l  in  among  the  lawyers,  and  in  front  of  the  bench.  An  indictment 
was  brought  against  one  Pennington.  The  judge  called  out:  "Is  Pennington  in 
court?"  A  stalwart  man  standing  in  front  of  the  crowd,  said  :  "  Jedgc,  you  better 
call  out  the  whole  damn  grist  of  the  Penningtons."  The  judge  put  on  a  severe 
look,  and  commenced  a  lecture  to  the  man  for  disturbing  the  court.  After  he  pro- 
ceeded awhile,  the  man  said  :  "Hush  up,  jedge,  you  arc  making  a  damned  sight 
more  disturljance  than  I  did." 


1811.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jgs 

he  was  interested.     Judge  Cooper's  contradiction  is  too  long  for  in- 
sertion. 

Fifth.  Setting  aside  the  verdict  of  tlie  jury  in  an  intemperate  and 
passionate  manner.  In  the  case  of  Albright  and  Cowden,  Judge 
Cooper  and  his  associates,  Wilson  and  Macpherson,  agreed  in  opin- 
oin.  Judge  General  Montgomery  differed.  Judge  Cooper  charged 
the  jury,  and  General  Montgomery  also,  and  the  jury  went  with  the 
latter.  The  verdict  was  set  aside  by  Judge  Cooper.  The  latter 
denied  intemperance  of  language. 

Sixth.  Browbeating  counsel  and  witnesses.  Judge  Cooper  admits 
reprimanding  members  of  the  bar,  for  unprofessional  conduct,  in 
managing  a  cause ;  for  making  statements  not  supported  ;  for  per- 
severing in  objections,  after  the  court  had  decided  ;  for  want  of 
silence,  and  keeping  order ;  but  denied  anything  further  contained 
m  the  charge. 

Seventh.  That  he  appeared  armed.  Judge  Cooper  says  he  never 
carried  arms  but  once,  and  then  on  the  road  from  Northumberland 
to  Williamsport,  as  he  had  been  warned  that  he  would  be  attacked. 
After  calling  the  jury  at  Williamsport,  Judge  Cooper  went  off  the 
bench,  and  made  information  against  the  party  who  had  threatened 
him.  The  party,  a  professional  gentleman  in  the  neighborhood,  of 
good  character,  came  forward,  and,  finding  himself  mistaken,  the 
complaint  was  dropped. 

Eighth  charge.  That  he  refused  to  hear  persons  in  theif  own  de- 
fense.    This  denied  in  toto. 

Ninth.  That  he  had  issued  a  proclamation  against  horse-racing, 
and  then  ordered  a  suppression  of  the  proclamation.  Judge  Cooper 
says  :  This  is  true.  Some  of  my  friends,  engaged  in  the  said  horse- 
race, applied  to  me,  and  stated  that  horses  were  expected  from  Phil- 
adelphia ;  that  the  county  was  generally  notified,  and  that  there 
would  be  a  great  assemblage  of  people  ;  that  the  tavern-keepers  had 
made  expensive  preparations,  and  that  it  was  too  late  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  meeting.  They  said  if  I  insisted  in  my  opposition  to  the  race, 
they  would  submit  to  the  law ;  but  this  should  be  the  last  race,  and 
they  would  be  individually  responsible  for  keeping  order,  suppress- 
ing gambling,  riot,  &c.  This  was  acceded  to,  and  there  has  been 
no  horse-racing  since  in  Sunbury  or  in  the  county,  that  I  know  of. 

Tenth  charge.     Fining  and  imprisoning  a  constable  for  neglecting 


396  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1811. 

to  execute  a  process  issued  contrary  to  the  Constitution  and  laws. 
This  referred  to  the  case  of  Conner,  who  so  misused  the  warrant 
Judge  Cooper  had  issued  for  arresting  Jacob  Langs,  a  counterfeiter, 
that  the  latter  escaped.  Judge  William  Montgomery,  of  Danville, 
although  he  frequently  differed  with  Judge  Cooper,  came  out  in  a 
strong  affidavit,  in  which  he  said  Judge  Cooper  was  a  good  lawyer, 
earnest  in  preparing  public  business,  prompt  in  his  decisions,  and 
clear  of  partialities,  and  that  he  had,  with  manly  firmness,  opposed 
further  and  unnecessary  litigation,  and  disposed  of  the  charges  as 
far  as  they  referred  to  Judge  Cooper's  practice  in  Northumberland 
county. 

The  committee  to  investigate  the  charges  met  on  the  7  th  of  March, 
(at  Lancaster.)  John  B.  Gibson,  Samuel  Dale,  and  Jared  Irwin  were 
of  the  committee.  Mr.  Duncan,  of  Carlisle,  appeared  for  Judge 
Cooper ;  Mr.  Greenough,  for  the  petitioners.  Jared  Irwin  com- 
plained to  the  committee  that  Daniel  Levy,  Esquire,  was  interfering 
outside  in  favor  of  Judge  Cooper;  whereupon,  Mr.  Duncan  dis- 
claimed having  any  connection  with  Mr.  Levy,  and  added,  that  it 
was  this  young  man's  folly  that  caused  Judge  Cooper  to  be  here. 
After  an  examination  of  Charles  Hall,  Esquire,  Frederick  Evans, 
and  many  other  witnesses,  the  committee  reported  that  the  Judge's 
conduct  had  been  arbitrary,  unjust,  and  precipitate,  and  in  favor  of 
an  address  to  the  Governor  for  his  removal.  "More  than  two  thirds 
of  the  Legislature  voted  for  his  removal,"  says  the  Argus,  of  April  3. 
The  witnesses  called  on  his  side  were  Doctor  Dougal,  Joseph  Priestly, 
George  Kremer,  Colonel  D.  Montgomery,  Charles  Hegins,  John 
Cowden,  E.  G.  Bradford,  &c.  "Judge  Cooper  spoke  four  and  a  half 
hours,  in  a  very  eloquent  and  impressive  manner." — Ibid.  In  the 
Argus  of  the  17th,  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  is  printed  in  full. 
Judge  William  Wilson  (of  Chillisquaque)  says:  "The  court  was 
very  disorderly  before  Judge  Cooper's  time.  I  have  seen  Judge 
Rush  leave  the  bench.  It  is  now  very  orderly.  Judge  Cooper  can- 
not see  very  well.  John  Dreisbach,  of  Mifflinburg,  was  one  of  the 
parties  Judge  Cooper  fined  for  talking  to  a  witness.  Dreisbach  said 
he  was  merely  telling  the  witness  that  court  had  adjourned,  as  the 
man  was  hard  of  hearing.  Esquire  Youngman  came  forward  to 
speak  in  my  favor,  and  the  judge  told  him  he  would  fine  him  a 
dollar  if  he  did  not  keep  still."     The  courts  in  May  were  held  by 


1811.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  jgj 

Judges  Wilson,  Montgomery,  and  Macpherson.  A  queer  rule  was 
adopted  :  "  No  bills  on  the  return  of  a  constable,  unless  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  mother  of  the  child,  or  the  overseers  of  the  poor,  or  by 
special  direction  of  the  court,  should  be  returned." 

September  17,  convention  met  at  Derrstown,  and  made  the  fol- 
lowing nominations  :  Simon  Snyder  for  Governor  ;  Jared  Irwin, 
Frederick  Evans,  Samuel  Bond,  and  Andrew  McClenachan  for  mem- 
bers ;  Commissioner,  Henry  Vanderslice  ;  Auditors,  Hugh  Wilson, 
(ridge,)  Charles  Gale,  and  Andrew  Albright. 

The  election  returns  gave  Simon  Snyder  all  the  votes,  except 
twelve,  polled  in  Buffalo  for  Jacob  Bumberger.  Bond,  Irwin,  Mc- 
Clenachan, and  F.  Evans  were  elected  to  the  Assembly,  with  Henry 
Vanderslice  for  county  commissioner.     Auditors  as  above. 

Argus,  of  November  13,  says:  "William  Hayes,  of  Derrstown, 
raised  five  pumpkins  on  one  vine,  largest  weighing  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  ;  least,  fifty-four  pounds." 

Roan's  Journal. 

February  i .  Judge  Cooper  a  good  deal  annoyed  about  the  peti- 
tions to  remove  him.  2d.  Stopped  at  Irely's,  (Winfield.)  4th. 
Scurrilous  poetry  circulating  among  the  neighbors  about  last  hallow- 
een  night.  [The  family  feuds  in  the  Valley  may  be  traced  to  this 
practice.  It  will  be  all  understood  by  the  old  residents.]  Entry  of 
the  7th.  James  Dale  and  James  McClure  had  a  bout  at  Derrstown 
about  hallow-een  night  stories.  14th.  Mr.  Barber  married  to  Polly 
Vanvalzah.      19th.  Thomas  Proctor  and  Polly  Musser  married. 

March  5.  At  Jimmy  Wilson's:  three  Moores,  of  Lycoming,  two 
Vanvalzahs,  Bob  Fruit  and  Nancy,  two  of  the  Nevius  girls,  and 
Polly  Darragh,  at  the  spinning.  March  8.  Tailor  McFadden  work- 
ing at  Clingan's.  James  McClellan  had  his  house  and  barn  burned. 
13th.  R.  Mc and  Aaron  C would  have  fought  at  Rees'  to- 
night, but  Long  John  Maclay  prevented  them.  All  about  hallow- 
een  night.  20th.  Concert  of  the  singing-school  at  Derrstown.  Eat 
cakes  and  drank  cider  with  a  number  of  young  ladies  and  gentle- 
men at  Granny  Phillips'.  29th.  Firing  of  cannon  and  rejoicing  at 
Northumberland,  on  account  of  the  removal  of  Judge  Cooper. 

April  5.  Citizen  Kremer  has  lost  popularity  by  taking  Judge 
Cooper's  part. 


3g8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [ISII, 

May  1 8.  Great  horse-race  at  Derrstown. 

August  ig.  The  new  Judge,  Chapman,  took  his  seat. 

September  8.  A  blazing  star,  hke  a  comet,  appeared  in  the  north 
for  some  time.  17th.  Nominating  convention  met  at  Derrstown. 
McLanachan  put  on  the  legislative  ticket,  with  Evans.  .i8th.  Comet 
still  visible,  going  around  the  north  star  like  the  pointers  in  the 
bear.  19th.  Quilting  at  Mr.  Laird's.  Thirty  ladies  there.  Hayes 
says  Fred  Evans  is  a  Burrite.  29th.  Graham  had  a  child  baptized 
Caroline. 

October  8.  Election  at  Derrstown.  Two  hundred  and  forty-six 
votes  polled.  People  pretty  quiet.  15  th.  William  McQuhae  mar- 
ried to  John  Cowden's  daughter.  2 2d.  Review  at  Derrstown.  Fid- 
dles going  all  day  at  the  tavern.  26th.  John  Musser,  with  Thomas, 
at  Philadelphia.  He  had  a  horse  stolen  there.  It  takes  two  weeks 
to  make  the  trip. 

November  9.  Called  at  Giddy  Smith's,  to  get  signers  to  the  peti- 
tion for  a  new  county.  Giddy  says  there  are  too  many  Federalists 
on  the  petition,  nth.  Esquire  Vincent,  Esquire  Brown,  and  Mr. 
Iredell  here  on  a  road  view.  They  are  very  jocose,  sociable,  and 
funny  men. 

December  11.  James  Clark  took  Flavel  home  with  him  to  a  kick- 
ing frolic.  17.  T.  Woodside  here,  surveying  Mr.  Lyons'  land,  sold 
to  Frantz. 

Governor  Snyder's  message,  of  December  3,  is  worthy  of  remark, 
as  containing  an  emphatic  protest  against  slavery,  and  also  a  strong 
recommendation  of  the  canal  system. 

That  noted  divine,  Yost  Henry  Fries,  now  enters  the  Valley,  and 
his  wide-spread  influence  takes  its  start.  The  Reformed  congrega- 
tions had  become  vacant,  by  the  resignation  of  the  Reverend  Jacob 
Dieffenbach,  in  1810,  and  Mr.  Fries  was  induced  to  make  a  visit  to 
Buffalo  Valley  from  his  congregation  in  York  county.  He  was  born 
in  Westphalia,  town  of  Gusterhain,  24th  April,  1777.  He  landed 
in  Baltimore,  20th  August,  1803.  From  early  childhood  he  had  a 
strong  inclination  to  the  ministry,  and,  being  poor,  saw  little  hope 
of  entering  the  ministry  at  home,  where  so  many  strict  formalities 
were  observed.  He  could  not  pay  his  passage,  and  was  forced  to 
become  a  "  redemptioner  ;"  that  is,  he  was  bound  to  serve  out  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time,  generally  three  years,  for  the  benefit  of  the  man 


18]1.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  sgg 

who  paid  his  passage.  When  a  ship  arrived,  farmers  and  others, 
needing  laborers,  would  go  to  the  port,  and  buy  the  time  for  which 
they  were  to  serve  from  the  captain.  Mr.  Fries  had  his  certificate  of 
church  membership,  and  also  a  recommendation  to  a  wealthy  man 
named  Hinckel,  at  Philadelphia.  It  seems  he  never  presented  the 
latter,  as  Doctor  Harbaugh  found  it  among  his  papers,  long  preserved 
after  his  death  by  a  daughter,  near  Mififlinburg.  Mr.  Fries  fell  into 
the  hands  of  a  kind  German  farmer,  in  York  county.  He  was  honest, 
industrious,  and  trusty,  and  soon  won  the  full  confidence  of  his  em- 
ployer. He  was  fond  of  improving  his  mind  in  spare  hours,  and  his 
desire  to  be  a  minister  stirred  him  strongly.  He  spoke  in  small  assem- 
blies, when  he  got  the  opportunity.  There  was,  however,  nothing 
fanatical  about  him,  yet  he  went  so  far  once  as  to  preach  a  sermon, 
in  a  school-house,  on  the  words,  ''  Much  study  is  a  weariness  to  the 
flesh,"  Ecclesiastes,  xii :  i.  A  singular  text  certainly  to  begin  with. 
He  commenced  his  preparatory  studies  with  Reverend  Daniel  Wag- 
ner, in  Frederick,  Maryland,  April  3,  1809,  and,  after  being  with 
him  a  year,  was  licensed  at  Harrisburg,  and  on  the  20th  of  June, 
iSio,  took  charge  of  eight  congregations  in  York  county. 

In  June,  181 1,  he  came  up  on  a  visit  to  Buffalo  Valley,  and  on 
the  2  2d  preached  in  the  Dreisbach  church,  on  Acts,  v:  31  ;  on  the 
23d  in  Mifflinburg,  Acts,  xxvi :  28  ;  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
at  New  Berlin,  on  11  Peter,  i :  19,  and  in  the  evening  again  at  Mifflin- 
burg, on  I  Corinthians,  xvi :  13.  In  October,  181 1 ,  he  made  a  second 
visit  to  Buffalo  Valley,  from  1 7th  to  the  24th.  He  preached  at  Ans- 
pach's  school-house,  Dieffenbach's,  White  Deer  school-house,  Dreis- 
bach church,  Mifflinburg,  New  Berlin,  Aaronsburg,  and  in  Brush 
valley,  and  on  the  28th  was  home  again  in  his  charge.  A  strong 
effort  was  now  made  by  the  churches  in  Buffalo  Valley  and  neigh- 
borhood to  secure  his  services. — Harbaugh. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Northumberland  Presbytery  was  held  in 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  Northumberland,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
October.  Reverend  Asa  Dunning  opened  it  with  a  sermon  from 
Ephesians,  ii :  14.  The  members  composing  it  were  Reverends  Dun- 
ham, Bryson,  Grier,  Patterson,  and  Hood,  with  Elders  James  Shed- 
dan,  James  Hepburn,  William  Montgomery,  and  Thomas  Howard. 


400  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  1 1811. 

Marriages. 

Evan  Rice  Evans  was  married,  last  Thursday  evening,  to  Mrs. 
Forrest.  Slie  was  a  widow  of  five  months.  (Roan's  Diary,  12th 
January.)  September  8,  Elijah  Updike  to  Elizabeth  Snook,  daugh- 
ter of  Martin.  Witnesses :  John  Brown,  (miller,)  Peter  Snook, 
Sarah  Smith.  October  7,  William  Davis  to  Catherine  Derr,  daughter 
of  George  Derr.  December  25,  by  Reverend  Slater  Clay,  Samuel 
Hepburn,  Esquire,  to  Miss  Ann  Clay,  of  Montgomery  county. 
December  26,  John  Cochran,  junior,  with  Anna  M.,  daughter  of 
Adam  Grove.  James  Kelly,  George  Kremer,  John  and  Sarah 
Montgomery,  and  Catharine  Gordon. 

Deaths. 

George  Holstein,  of  Penn's,  father  of  George,  of  Lewisburg. 

Joseph  Evans,  Lewisburg. 

Evan  Rice  Evans,  Esquire,  in  December. 

Henry  Myer,  of  West  Buffalo,  left  wife,  Elizabeth.  Children : 
Henry,  Daniel,  Valentine,  William,  John,  Elizabeth,  Margaret, 
Eve,  and  Maria.  Daniel  took  his  land  at  the  appraisement,  and  in 
1 81 3  sold  it  to  William  Forster. 

William  Douglass,  West  Buffalo.     John,  James,  Elizabeth. 

George  Cramer,  (of  now  Union.)  Children  :  Matthew,  Howard, 
Chatam. 

Jacob  Albright,  Beaver.  Children  :  Rachel,  married  to  James 
Moore ;  Stephen,  Peter,  Jacob,  Juliana,  Catherine. 

February  23,  Mrs.  Mary  Bull,  wife  of  General  John  Bull,  of 
Northumberland,  in  her  eightieth  year.  She  was  buried  in  the 
Quaker  grave-yard.  Previous  to  the  grave  being  closed,  General 
Bull,  although  much  reduced  by  sickness  and  old  age,  addressed  the 
audience  as  follows:  "The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.  May  we,  who  are  soon  to 
follow  her,  be  as  well  prepared  as  she  was." 

At  Sunbury,  on  Sunday,  March  11,  John  Frick,  Esquire,  Regis- 
ter and  Recorder,  aged  fifty-one.     Left  widow  and  eleven  children. 


1811.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  401 


Honorable  Samuel  Maclay 

Died  at  his  residence,  in  Buffalo  Valley,  October  5,  181 1.  He 
was  born  June  17,  1741,  in  Lurgan  township,  Franklin  county.  Of 
his  early  education  I  can  learn  nothing.  His  field-note  books,  as 
assistant  deputy  surveyor  to  William  Maclay,  in  1767  and  1768,  are 
before  me,  and  indicate  a  cultivated  hand.  He  next  appears  in 
1769,  as  assistant  to  his  brother  on  the  surveys  of  the  officers'  tract, 
in  Buffalo  Valley.  He  surveyed  largely  in  what  is  now  Mifflin 
county,  and  took  up  a  good  deal  of  land  there.  R.  P.  Maclay,  his 
son,  still  living,  related  an  anecdote  which  he  had  from  the  late 
Judge  Brown,  of  Mifflin  county,  which  is  worth  transcribing.  He 
said  :  "I  was  wandering  out  in  the  Valley,  in  search  of  good  loca- 
tions. I  was  traveling,  looking  about  on  the  rising  ground  for  a 
bearj^  I  had  started,  when  I  came  suddenly  upon  the  Big  spring. 
[This  spring  is  four  miles  west  from  Reedsvilie,  in  the  rear  of  a 
blacksmith  shop.  Still  called  Logan's  spring.]  Being  thirsty,  I  set 
my  rifle  against  a  bush,  and  rushing  down  the  bank,  laid  down  to 
drink.  Upon  putting  my  head  down,  I  saw  reflected  in  the  water, 
on  the  opposite  side,  the  shadow  of  a  tall  Indian.  I  sprang  to  my 
rifle,  when  the  Indian  gave  a  yell — whether  for  peace  or  war,  I  was 
not,  just  then,  sufficiently  mastgr  of  my  faculties  to  tell ;  but  upon 
my  seizing  my  rifle  and  facing  him,  he  knocked  up  the  pan  of  his 
gun,  threw  out  the  priming,  and  extended  his  open  hand  toward  me 
in  token  of  friendship.  After  putting  down  our  guns,  we  again  met 
at  the  spring  and  shook  hands.  This  was  Logan,  the  best  specimen 
of  humanity  I  ever  met  with,  either  white  or  red.  He  could  speak 
a  little  English,  and  told  me  there  was  another  white  hunter  a  little 
way  down  the  stream,  and  offered  to  guide  me  to  his  camp.  There 
I  first  met  Samuel  Maclay.  We  remained  together  in  the  Valley  for 
a  week,  looking  for  springs  and  selecting  lands,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  friendship  which  never  has  had  the  slightest  interruption. 

' '  We  visited  Logan  at  the  camp,  at  Logan's  spring,  and  he  and  Mr. 
Maclay  shot  at  a  mark  for  a  dollar  a  shot.  Logan  lost  four  or  five 
rounds,  and  acknowledged  himself  beaten.  When  we  were  about 
to  leave  him,  he  went  into  his  hut  and  brought  out  as  many  deer 
skins  as  he  had  lost  dollars,  and  handed  them  to  Mr.  Maclay,  who 
refused  to  take  them,  alleging  that  we  had  been  his  guests,  and  did 
26 


402  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1811. 

not  come  to  rob  him  ;  that  the  shooting  had  been  only  a  trial  of 
skill,  and  the  bet  merely  nominal.  Logan  drew  himself  up  with 
great  dignity,  and  said :  '  Me  bet  to  make  you  shoot  your  best ; 
me  gentleman,  and  me  take  your  dollar  if  me  beat.'  So  he  was 
obliged  to  take  the  skins,  or  affront  our  friend,  whose  nice  sense  of 
honor  would  not  permit  him  to  receive  a  horn  of  powder  in  return, 
even." 

Mr.  Maclay  was  lieutenant  colonel  of  a  battalion  of  associators 
and  as  such,  delegate  with  McLanachan,  Geddes,  and  Brady,  to  the' 
convention  at  Lancaster,  July  4,  1776,  which  elected  two  brigadiers 
and  organized  the  associators,  the  then  militia  of  the  State. 

In  1 792,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  associate  judges  of  thecounty, 
and  resigned  December  17,  1795.  In  October,  1794,  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  Congress,  and  carried  the  county  by  eleven  hundred  ma- 
jority ;  vote  only  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty.  In  Buffalo, 
he  had  four  hundred  and  sixty-four,  to  fourteen  for  his  opponent, 
John  Andre  Hanna.     Served  for  the  year  1 795-96. 

On  the  2d  of  December,  1801,  Mr.  Maclay  was  elected  Speaker 
of  the  Senate,  and  re-elected  December  7,  1802.  On  the  14th,  he 
was  elected  United  States  Senator,  and,  being  Speaker,  had  to  sign 
his  own  certificate.  In  January,  1803,  he  presided  at  the  impeach- 
ment trial  of  Judge  Addison,  an«l  continued  acting  as  Speaker 
(against  the  protest  of  the  opposition,  however,  after  March  3) 
until  March  16,  when  he  resigned  that  position,  and,  on  the  2d  of 
September,  his  position  as  State  Senator. 

He  resigned  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  the  4th  of 
January,  1809. 

Mr.  Maclay  was  very  popular  in  his  manners,  a  good  scholar,  and 
efficient  writer.  He  had  an  extensive  library,  containing  many  val- 
uable books.  He  was  always  of  the  people  and  for  the  people, 
plain  and  simple  in  his  manner,  disliking  ostentation.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  brought  a  liandsome  coach  home  from  Lancaster,  and  the 
family  took  it  to  Buffalo  church  the  next  Sabbath.  Mr.  Maclay 
noticed  the  impression,  and  that  coach  never  left  the  carriage-house 
afterward ;  it  rotted  down  where  it  was  left  that  Sunday  evening. 
He  stopped  once  at  the  late  Hugh  Wilson's  about  tea  time.  They 
had  mush  only,  and  Mrs.  Wilson  commenced  getting  something 
better,  as  she  thought.     "No,"  said  he,  "mush  is  good  enough  for 


k 


1811.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  403 

a  king's  dinner."  He  was  a  large  man,  resembling  Henry  Clay 
very  much,  though  much  stouter  in  his  latter  years.  Honorable 
Martin  Dreisbach,  who  still  recollects  him  well,  says  his  return  home 
was  always  indicated  by  the  hogs  being  driven  out  of  the  fields,  the 
repairing  of  the  fences,  and  general  activity  over  the  whole  place. 
He  was  a  good  mechanic  also,  and  often  amused  himself  working 
in  the  blacksmith  shop.  His  servant,  Titus,  was  a  character.  His 
hair  was  white  as  the  snow ;  always  dressed  in  a  ruffled  shirt.  He 
walked  with  a  long  staff,  and  on  public  days  he  came  out  in  a  many- 
colored  coat,  looking  like  the  king  of  Africa.  He  lectured  the 
boys  somewhat  after  this  style  :  ' '  Massa  Dave  a  damn  fool ;  he  no 
shoot  a  pheasant,  he  no  shoot  a  coo ;  cuss  a  damn  fool ;  he  go  into 
the  meadow  and  shoot  a  blackbo,  (bird.) 

Mr.  Maclay's  wife  was  Elizabeth  Plunket,  an  account  of  whose 
family  appears  ante  year  1791.     Their  children  were  : 

1.  William  Plunket  Maclay,  born  in  Buffalo  Valley,  23d  August, 
1774.  Married,  in  1802,  to  Sally  Brown,  daughter  of  Judge  Wil- 
liam Brown,  of  Mifflin  county,  and  was,  therefore,  brother-in-law  to 
General  James  Potter,  second,  and  John  Norris,  many  years  cashier 
of  the  old  bank  at  Bellefonte.  Mrs.  Maclay  died  in  1810,  leaving 
three  sons,  Doctor  Samuel,  of  Milroy,  William  P.,  and  Charles  J., 
and  in  181 2,  William  P.  married  Jane  Holmes,  of  Carlisle,  who 
died  in  1844,  leaving  four  sons,  Holmes,  David,  Robert  P.,  and 
Joseph  H.     William  P.  Maclay  died  in  Millroy,  September  2,  1842. 

2 .  Charles  Maclay  (John  Binns'  second  in  his  duel  with  •  Sam 
Stewart)  died,  unmarried,  while  on  a  visit  in  Wayne  county.  New 
York,  aged  twenty-eight. 

3.  John  Maclay,  register  and  recorder  of  Union  county,  also 
prothonotary  for  two  terms.  Married  to  Annie  Dale,  daughter  of 
Honorable  Samuel  Dale,  and  sister  of  the  late  James  Dale,  Esquire, 
of  Buffalo  township.  In  1833,  John  moved  to  Vandalia,  Illinois, 
and  soon  after  died,  leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  Charles, 
William  P.,  Elizabeth,  (afterwards  Mrs.  Armstrong,)  Anne,  all  since 
deceased.     His  eldest  son,  Samuel,  died  in  Buffalo  Valley. 

4.  Samuel  Maclay,  married  first  to  Margaret  and  afterwards  to 
Elizabeth,  daughters  of  Reverend  James  Johnston,  of  Mifflin  county. 
Samuel  died  February  17,  1S36,  leaving  seven  sons  and  three  daugh- 


404  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1811. 

ters,  of  whom  only  three  are  living,  Robert  P.,  in  Louisiana,  and 
Elizabeth  and  Jane,  in  Galesburg,  Illinois. 

5.  David  Maclay,  married  to  Isabella,  daughter  of  Galbraith  Pat- 
terson, Esquire,  died  in  1818,  leaving  no  issue.  David  was  a  ripe 
scholar,  and  would  have  made  his  mark  in  public  life,  if  his  health 
had  not  failed.  His  widow  married  Honorable  A.  L.  Hayes,  late 
and  for  many  years  associate  law  judge  of  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

6.  Robert  Plunket  Maclay,  born  in  April,  1799.  Senator  from 
Union,  in  1842.  Still  living  in  Kishacoquillas  valley,  Mifflin  county. 
His  wife  was  a  Lashells,  of  Union  county. 

Samuel  Maclay's  daughters  were  : 

1.  Eleanor,  the  eldest,  married  to  her  cousin,  David  Maclay,  of 
Frankhn  county,  Pennsylvania.     Herself  and  children  dead. 

2.  Hester,  who  accompained  Charles  to  Wayne  county.  New 
York,  and  died  there  about  the  same  time. 

3.  Jane  E.,  married  to  Doctor  Joseph  Henderson,  died  without 
issue,  January,  1848.  Doctor  Henderson  was  a  captain  in  the  war 
of  1 81 2,  and  in  Congress  four  years,  during  General  Jackson's  ad- 
ministration. He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Reverend  James  Linn, 
D.  D.,  of  Bellefonte,  now  deceased. 

Mr.  Maclay  is  buried  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Joseph  Green. 
The  brick  wall  inclosing  the  grave  is  within  sight  from  the  turnpike, 
after  passing  the  New  Berlin  road.  It  is  immediately  in  front  of  his 
old  stone  mansion.  How  few  now  know  that  within  it  rest  the  re- 
mains of  one  of  Pennsylvania's  ablest  statesmen.  The  disjecta  metn- 
bra  of  a  fine  monument,  intended  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  his 
grave,  still  lie  in  one  corner  of  the  inclosure,  as  they  were  unloaded 
forty  years  ago. 


l8l!^. 


Division  of  the  County  Agitated — Lewisbubg  Incorporated — Roan's 
Journal — Rolls  of  Captains  John  Donaldson's  and  Ner  Middles- 
warth's  Companies — Reverend  Just  Henry  Fries,  Pastor  at  Mif- 
flinburg. 

EMBERS  of  the  House  of  Representatives  elected  in 
October,  Samuel  Bond,  Andrew  McClenachan,  Leon- 
ard Rupert,  and  George  Kremer.  Treasurer,  Andrew 
Albright.  Commissioner  elect,  Henry  Vanderslice. 
February  9,  Frederick  Evans  writes  to  George  Kremer  :  "  Musser 
gave  me  petitions  amounting,  in  signatures,  to  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-nine.  Get  the  next  sent  forward  as  early  as  possible.  I  think 
John  Swineford  and  Seebold  would  interest  themselves  to  get  signa- 
tures, as  Buffalo  has  agreed  to  their  proposals  ;  that  is,  to  have  the 
seat  of  justice  fixed  not  more  than  three  miles  from  the  center  of  the 
inhabitable  part.  By  the  time  you  receive  this,  no  doubt  you  will  hear 
that  a  resolution  recommending  the  petitioners  in  the  Forks  to  the 
early  attention  of  the  next  Legislature,  on  the  subject.  If  it  should 
dishearten  the  favorers  of  a  division,  you  can  inform  them  that  if 
the  west  side  only  sends  down  five  hundred  signers  more,  the  Forks 
petition  will  be  re-considered,  and  things  will  go  on  fortunately  yet. 
Had  the  west  side  petitions  came  in  as  early  as  the  Forks,  the  county 
would,  by  this  time,  have  been  divided.  However,  there  are  still 
hopes.  If  five  hundred  more  signatures  cannot  be  obtained,  send  on 
as  many  as  can  be  got.  Four  hundred  and  fifty-one  would  be  a 
majority  of  the  taxables.  I  am  glad  you  are  willing  to  clear  out  of 
Derrstown.     I  will  leave  the  place  before  long,  at  all  events." 

405 


fob  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1812. 

May  25,  Methodist  church  organized  in  Lewisburg.  Sermon  at 
Gordon's  house ;  text:  i  John,  iii :  i. 

June  18,  President  Madison's  proclamation  declaring  war.  The 
first  bridge  was  erected  over  the  North  Branch  to  Northumberland, 
during  this  and  the  following  year,  by  aid  of  a  State  appropriation. 
The  division  question  was  the  all-absorbing  one.  By  combining 
with  Derry  people,  and  others  in  favor  of  the  erection  of  Columbia 
county,  the  division  ticket.  Bond,  Kemer,  &c.,  was  elected.  It  was, 
however,  bitterly  opposed,  and  an  able  paper  against  the  division 
presented,  which,  among  other  things,  urged  that  if  the  soldiers' 
vote  at  Meadville  had  been  counted,  that  ticket  would  not  have 
been  elected. 

Borough  of  Lewisburg. 

March  31,  the  act  incorporating  the  directors  of  streets,  &:c.,  of 
Lewisburg  was  passed.  The  first  election  held  under  this  act  for 
directors  of  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  of  the  town  of  Lewisburg  was 
held  at  the  house  of  Andrew  Billmeyer, '  on  Saturday,  the  1 7th  day 
of  October.  Henry  Spyker,  John  Martin,  John  Lawshe,  John  Gor- 
don, and  William  McQuhae  were  elected. 

October  23,  the  directors  elected  John  Lawshe  president,  and 
Henry  Spyker  secretary.  James  Geddes  was  appointed  supervisor, 
Andrew  Sherrard  constable,  George  Knox  overseer  of  the  poor. 
The  first  ordinance  passed  was  one  requiring  the  opening  of  the 
streets,  the  most  of  which  were  fenced  in  and  cultivated  at  that  time. 
They  were  finally  opened  in  18 13,  except  in  the  case  of  Doctor 
Charles  Beyer,  who,  May  5,  1813,  represented  that  he  had  not  rails 
to  fence  with,  and  if  he  opened  the  streets  he  had  inclosed  in  his 
lots,  it  would  be  to  the  great  damage  of  his  grain  ;  and  the  directors 
agreeing  that  this  was  so,  let  him  off,  upon  his  agreement  to  pay  two 
bushels  of  wheat  and  two  of  rye,  immediately  after  harvest,  for  the 
use  of  the  corporation,  after  which  they  were  to  be  opened. 

Simon  VVehr  purchased  his  tavern  stand,  in  Limestone  township 
now,  and  William  Pancoast  erected  his  blacksmith  shop  in  Buffalo, 
so  long  known  as  Ritter's. 


1S12.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  40J 

Incidents  from  Roan's  Journal. 

April  25.  Christopher  Johnson  vs.  Mathew'  Irvine,  tried.  Verdict 
for  plaintiff,  $150.  29th.  Beyers  for  Sarah  Wister  vs.  Clark  tried. 
Duncan  squealed  a  long  time  for  Sarah.  30th.  Dance  in  the  court- 
house to-night. 

May  19.  George  Clingan  went  to  Mr.  Hood's  to  see  Mr.  Wright 
married  to  Miss  Lewis.  Mr.  Hood  got  $2  for  the  job.  [Mrs.  Wright 
was  a  {t\f  years  since  living  in  Stevenson  county,  Illinois.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  Paschal  Lewis.]  21st.  Billmyer  executed  a  deed  for 
his  land  to  Gebhart. 

June  4,  Thursday.  This  is  Nimrod  Hughes'  day,  but  he  is  mis- 
taken about  the  dissolution  of  the  world.  Went  to  the  meeting  of 
the  regiment,  at  Reedy's,  about  drafting  men  for  the  war.  9th.  Cap- 
tain Patrick  Hayes  called.  Went  with  him  to  Billy  Clark's,  and 
then  to  Esquire  Gray's.  Met  John  and  Robert  Hayes  there,  and 
Judge  Macpherson.  Thursday,  nth.  James  Sanderson  married,  on 
Tuesday,  to  Miss  Griffen.  He  gave  Mr.  Hood  $20.  12th.  Libby 
Robinson  married  to  John  Bell,  of  Chester. 

July  7.  Visited  my  father's  grave,  in  Derry  church-yard,  Dauphin 
county,  with  Captain  P.  Hayes.  Tomb-stones  are  still  good.  23d. 
Set  off  to  James  Moore's  funeral,  but  was  too  late.  30th.  Continental 
fast-day.  Mr.  Hood's  text,  Jeremiah,  xiv  :  7.  Old  Captain  Kearsley 
spent  the  evening  here.  [Captain  Kearsley,  of  the  Revolution,  died 
March  22,  1830,  aged  eighty-one,  at  Middle  Spring,  Cumberland 
county.]  31st.  Went  with  Captain  K.  Called  at  Roan  McClure's, 
at  Derrstown  ;  Judge  Wilson's ;  then  at  Jones'  tavern,  Northumber- 
land.    Went  to  see  the  new  bridge  building  over  the  river. 

August  20.  President  Madison's  fast-day.  Jared  Irwin's  rifle  com- 
pany paraded^  and  went  to  the  German  church.  Drank  wine  at 
Enoch  Smith's,  with  Judge  Cooper,  Mr.  Bradford,  Gray,  Brady,  et al. 
Took  tea  at  Mr.  Finney's. 

September  7.  Three  hundred  enlisted  troops  left  Milton,  to  join 
General  Dearborn's  volunteers  and  drafted  men.  Have  orders  to 
march  to  Meadville.  8th.  Great  consternation  in  the  Valley  about 
the  volunteers  going  away.  9th.  Volunteers  from  our  neighborhood 
went  as  far  as  Derrstown  to-night.  loth.  Volunteers  on  their  march. 
A  number  of  our  neighbors  among  them.     i6th.  Delegates  met  at 


408  AXXALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1812. 


Derrstown,  and  formed  two  tickets.  20th.  Three  hundred  soldiers 
passed  through  Milton. 

October  10.  Rob.  Smith  came  from  Meadville.  Troops  had 
reached  that  place,  and  were  in  high  spirits.  13th.  Went  to  Derrs- 
town. Left  my  horse  at  James  Geddes'^  and  clerked  the  election. 
Three,  \.  M.,  before  we  got  through.  17th.  Borough  officers  elected 
in  Derrstown.  .25th.  Five  doctors  tapping  Davy  Reasoner.  26th.  D. 
R.  died.  30th.  Clerked  at  presidential  election  at  Derrstown.  Gov- 
ernor Snyder's  daughter  visiting  at  Kremer's. 

November  i.  A  big  bear  made  his  appearance  near  Billy  Clark's 
to-day.  3d.  Andy  Steel  shot  at  a  bear  in  the  meadow  at  Tommy's 
place.  5  th.  Tommy  returned  from  Philadelphia.  Made  trip  in  eleven 
days.  6th.  Clerked  at  Esquire  Gray's  vendue.  8th.  Mrs.  Colonel 
Chamberlin  had  a  young  son.  This  is  his  twenty-third  child.  Fourth 
wife.  19th.  Young  Doctor  Kennedy  fined  $\,  for  assaulting  Doctor 
Martin.  2 2d.  Roan  Clarke  came  for  Kremer.  His  wife  has  a  young 
daughter.  27th.  Biddle  tSc  Dougal  vs.  Cochran,  about  some  land, 
below  Milton.  Cochran  argued  his  own  case,  and  spoke  nearly  all 
day.  [Surveyor  General  Cochran.]  Hall,  Duncan,  and  Watts 
against  him  ;  Fisher  and  Hepburn  for  him.  Cochran  got  a  verdict. 
30th.  Betsy  Myers  and  Hetty  Shaffer  came  here  to  spin. 

December  8.  Bill  Morton  went  to  hustling  match  at  Myers'. 
Flavel  at  Mr.  Hood's  chopping  frolic.  13th.  Three  volunteers  went 
past,  probably  deserters  from  Canada.  14th.  More  volunteers  went 
by.  John  Forster,  the  widow's  son,  a  volunteer  from  Canada,  here 
to-night.  He  says,  General  Smythe  being  a  traitor,  is  the  reason  of 
volunteers  returning.  i6th.  Sam  Lytle,  another  volunteer,  break- 
fasted here.  21st.  Twenty  volunteers  passed  Green's  house.  25th. 
Great  quilting  and  ball  at  William  Wilson's  to-night.  31st.  At 
Shaffer's  tavern,  at  Sunbury.  Got  little  sleep.  They  were  shooting 
away  the  old  year  all  night. 

Roll  of  Captain  John  Donaldson' s  Company,  Pennsylvania  Militia, 
Colonel  Snyder's  Regiment,  September  2^  to  November  24. 

Captain — Donaldson,  John. 

Lieutenants — Chamberlin,  Aaron  ;  Hall,  John. 


1812.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  40() 

Sergeants — McFadden,  John  ;  Johnston,  Abel ;  Eilert,  Jacob  ; 
Cimfort,  Henry. 

Corporals — Alsbach,  Jacob  ;  Jones,  Samuel. 

Fifer — Dennis,  Michael. 

Drummer — Parks,  Robert. 

Privates — Auple,  Christopher;  Barbin,  James;  Barklow,  Francis; 
Black,  Robert ;  Bovver,  Joseph ;  Chamberlin,  Uriah ;  Clements, 
Uriah;  Cornelius,  William;  Cosier,  Jonathan;  Culbertson,  Jacob; 
Curtis,  Thomas ;  Frederick,  Samuel ;  Frederick,  Peter ;  Frederick, 
Jacob ;  Frock,  Jacob ;  Forster,  John ;  Forster,  William  ;  Forster, 
William,  junior;  Gibson,  John;  Gile,  John;  Glover,  John;  Gray, 
Robert  H. ;  Harman,  Benjamin  ;  Hoff,  James  ;  Hollinshead,  Fran- 
cis; Jodon,  George;  Johnston,  William;  Jones,  Benjamin;  Kelly, 
John;  Kimple,  Philip;  Kline  Daniel;  Klingaman,  Jacob;  Klinga- 
man,  John;  Klingaman,  George;  Klingaman,  Peter;  Linn,  David; 
Lytle,  Samuel;  Lytle,  William;  McGinnes,  John;  McKinley,  John; 
McKinley,  James;  Magee,  John;  Martin,  Peter;  Meekert,  Daniel; 
Mies,  Jonathan;  Miller,  Thomas;  Miller,  Henry;  Nelson,  Daniel; 
Norman,  William;  Parks,  John;  Pearson,  John;  Rearick,  John; 
Reeder,  Henry ;  Reininger,  Henry;  Renner,  Michael;  Renner, 
Henry  ;  Seebold,  Christopher  ;  Shaw,  Samuel ;  Slear,  John  ;  Snook, 
Peter ;  Stine,  Frederick ;  Struble,  Peter ;  Struble,  Henry ;  Stuttle- 
bach,  Jacob ;  Thompson,  Samuel ;  Turner,  John  ;  Vanhorn,  Wil- 
liam ;  Walker,  John  ;  Wartz,  George  ;  Weaver,  Benjamin  ;  Weikel, 
Henry  ;   Wise,  John  ;  Wright,  John  ;  Zimmerman,  David. 

It  was  to  this  company  that  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries  preached,  Sep- 
tember lo,  in  Elias  church,  from  Joshua,  xxiii  :  6,  ii.  It  marched 
to  Meadville  and  Erie  ;  thence  to  Black  Rock.  ' '  You  will  think 
strange  to  hear  that  all  of  our  volunteers  are  returned  home.  They 
give  different  accounts  of  the  proceedings  at  Black  Rock,  but  all  say 
that  they  came  off  without  being .  discharged,  and  all  agree  that 
General  Smythe  has  acted  the  part  of  a  traitor." — 'Roan  Clark's 
Letter  to  George  Kretner,  December  14. 


410  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1812. 

Roll  of  Captain  Ner  Middle sw ar th' s  Company,  Eighth  Riflemen, 
Colonel  James  Irwin's  Regiment,  September  2^  to  November 
24,  1812. 

Captain — Middleswarth,  Ner. 

Lieutenants — Youngman,  Thomas,  and  Kline,  John. 

Sergeants — Wise,  George ;  Zigler,  George  ;  Devore,  Daniel,  and 
Schwartz,  Daniel. 

Corporals — Nerhood,  Adam;  Bremenger,  Henry;  Heater,  Adam, 
and  McNade,  John. 

Bugler — Huick,  George. 

Privates — Baker,  George  ;  Bong,  John  ;  Bristol,  Peter ;  Brunner, 
Henry ;  Clements,  John ;  Devore,  Andrew ;  Devore,  George : 
Doebler,  Daniel ;  Etzler,  Benjamin  ;  Fete,  Simon  ;  Frock,  Henry  ; 
Frock,  Jacob ;  Frock,  Benjamin ;  Harbster,  David ;  Hassinger, 
David ;  Hassinger,  Jacob ;  Heter,  John ;  Hammer,  Andrew : 
Hummel,  George ;  Kaler,  John ;  Krebs,  Samuel ;  Layer,  Peter  ; 
Layer,  David ;  Love,  William  ;  Lowder,  Peter  ;  Lowder,  Michael ; 
Mook,  Henry  ;  Moyer,  George  ;  Nerhood,  Jacob  ;  Peter,  Leonard  ; 
Shay,  Timothy;  Stewart,  Thomas;  Stock,  Peter;  Stock,  Mel- 
choir. 

Reverend  J.  H.  Fries  was  called,  27  April,  1812,  to  Buffalo  Val- 
ley. Early  in  June,  Mr.  John  Reber  an  elder^  in  the  Dreisbach 
church,  left  home  with  his  team,  and  proceeded  to  York  county  to 
bring  up  the  new  minister.  Often  have  we  seen  this  worthy  man 
in  his  old  age,  renew  his  youth,  while  he  related,  in  the  most  circum- 
stantial manner,  the  varied  events  of  this  eventful  journey  down  into 
a  strange  country,  with  much  anxiety,  and  back  again,  with  a  pre- 
cious load  and  a  glad  heart.  Having  arrived  safely  in  Mifflinburg, 
Mr.  Fries  entered  upon  his  duties  in  his  new  field  on  the  1 7th  of 
June,  181 2.  His  field  extended  east  and  west  from  Brush  valley, 
and  the  lower  end  of  Penn's  valley,  to  Bloomsburg,  and  up  and 
down  the  Susquehanna  from  Muncy  to  Selinsgrove.  His  first  reg- 
ular charge  was  composed  of  Mifflinburg,  Dreisbach's,  New  Berlin, 
Aaronsburg,  and  Brush  Valley.     Besides  these,  he  preached  at  many 

'.John  Reber  was  a  warm  and  staunch  frienil  of  the  church  and  her  ministers,  whose 
house  was  always  open  to  God's  servants ;  and  who  for  his  j^enerous  hospitality  and 
piety,  l8  held  In  grateful  rememberance  by  all  who  knew  him. 


1812.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  41 1 

Other  points,  in  school-houses,  gradually  laying  the  foundations  of 
future  congregations. -T--/7(3;r^<a://!^/;. 

Marriages. 

February  2,  David  Black  with  Catherine  Berrey.  February  11, 
John  Maclay  to  Annie  Dale.  February  11,  Aaron  Chamberlin  to 
Betsy  Dale.  February  12,  Michael  Engleman  with  Barbara  Oilman, 
daughter  of  Jacob.  February  25,  by  Mr.  Hood,  Robert  Fruit  to 
Maria  Nevius.  He  was  the  youngest  of  eleven  children,  and  Maria 
the  oldest  of  eleven.  March  i,  James  Kelly  with  Hannah  Seitz, 
daughter  of  George.  "March  19,  James  Lavvson  to  Nancy  Clingan. 
Calf  and  two  turkeys  killed.  Twenty-six  strangers  at  the  wedding. 
March  26,  Thomas  Barber  to  Betsy  Clingan.  Groom  came  with 
fourteen  attendants;  thirty-seven  strangers,  altogether.  27th, 
twenty  strangers,  beside  the  bride  and  groom,  breakfasted  at  Clin- 
gan's ;  twenty-two  of  us  left  Clingan's  with  the  bride  and  groom ; 
four  joined  us  at  Doctor  Vanvalzah's;  went  to  Esquire  Barber's, 
where  there  was  a  very  large  party  and  much  dancing,  although 
Quakers."^  November  i,  John  Grove  with  Sarah  Montgomery, 
daughter  of  John. 

Deaths. 

January  5,  Colonel  Thomas  Youngman,  aged  forty.  Left  wife 
and  seven  children.  March  9,  John  Steel,  of  White  Deer.  July  7, 
John  Walter,  born  January  6,  1749.  Charles  Sechler,  East  Buffalo. 
Children :  Jacob,  John,  George,  Daniel,  Catherine,  wife  of  C. 
Reichly.  Alexander  McGrady,  second,  shoe-maker,  of  White  Deer 
township.  His  widow,  Elizabeth,  died  in  Ohio,  in  1861,  aged 
ninety-six.  Children :  Polly,  Margaret,  Thomas,  William,  Eliza- 
beth, Nancy,  and  Isaac.  They  all  moved  to  Ohio  in  1819.  Thomas 
was  in  Lewisburg  in  1S63.  Isaac  was  in  the  army,  near  Corinth, 
then. 

'  From  Flavel  Eoan's  Journal. 


i8i3. 


Uxiox  CoiTNTY  Erected — Officials — Efforts  for  a  Union  of  the  Al- 
bright Brpithren  with  the  United  Brethren— School-House  Lot 
IN  Union — Lewisburg  in  1813— Re-survey  of  the  Town. 

EMBER  of  Congress,  Jared  Irwin.  Members  elected  in 
October,  Samuel  Bond,  Leonard  Rupert,  Thomas  Mur- 
ray, junior,  and  George  Kremer.  President  Judge, 
Seth  Chapman.  Associate,  Hugh  Wilson,  appointed 
Octdber  ii.  First  sheriff  of  Union  county  elected,  John  Ray. 
Prothonotary,  Clerk  of  the  several  Courts,  Register  and  Recorder, 
Simon  Snyder,  junior,  commissioned  October  14,  18 13.  Deputy, 
John  Lashells,  Esquire.  District  Attorney,  William  Irwin,  Esquire. 
November  11,  County  Commissioners  sworn.  Daniel  Caldwell, 
Frederick  Gutelius,  and  Philip  Moore.  Clerk,  Flavel  Roan.  Coro- 
ner, John  Dreisbach. 

March  22,  the  act  erecting  Union  county  out  of  Northumberland 
passed.  The  territory  was  that  part  of  Northumberland  west  of  the 
river ;  the  act  to  go  into  effect  after  the  first  of  November.  Courts 
to  be  held  at  Mifflinburg  until  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
Governor  should  determine  the  locality  of  the  county  seat.  The 
commissioners  were  directed  in  the  act  to  select  the  most  central 
point. 

March  23,  Governor  Snyder  appointed  James  Banks  and  Henry 
Haines  commissioners  to  fix  the  site  of  the  court-house,  &c. 

March  29,  election  place  for  Buffalo,  &c.,  changed  to  Andrew 
Reedy's,  at  Cross-Roads.     Washington  and  White  Deer,  north  of  a 

412 


1813.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  413 


line  from  Spruce  run,  at  Matthew  Laird's,  to  John  Boal's,  at  the 
ri-ver,  to  hold  their  election  at  Dan  Caldwell's.  As  the  tax-books  are 
at  Lewisburg,  it  is  unimportant  to  take  further  account  of  them  in 
these  Annals.   ' 

April  21,  Bishop  Newcomer  reaches  Martin  Dreisbach's  again. 
The  Albright  brethren  had  their  conference  here.  Eighteen  preach- 
ers in  attendance.  He  stayed  with  them  until  the  24th.  They  dis- 
cussed the  practicability  and  propriety  of  a  union  between  the  two 
societies.  He  laid  the  discipline  of  the  United  Brethren  before 
them  for  examination.  They  made  no  objection,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, appeared  to  cordially  approve  of  it.  They  delivered  to  him 
a  written  communication  on  the  subject,  addressed  to  the  conference 
of  the  United  Brethren.  On  the  loth  of  November,  he  was  again 
in  the  Valley,  held  a  meeting  at  John  Walters',  and  preached  at 
Mr.  Mack's,  near  New  Berlin,  from  Psalm  xxxiv,  last  four  verses. 
On  the  forenoon  of  the  nth.  Christian  Crum,  Joseph  Hoffman, 
Jacob  Bowlus,  and  himself  appeared  for  the  United  Brethren ^ 
and  Messrs.  Miller,  Walter,  Dreisbach,  and  Mebel  for  the  Albright 
Brethren.  The  consultation  continued  until  the  13th,  but  they  were 
not  able  to  effect  a  union.  The  greatest  stumbling-block  appeared 
to  be  this :  According  to  the  United  Brethren's  discipline,  their 
local  preachers  have  a  vote  in  the  conference  as  well  as  the  traveling 
preachers.  This  was  a  sine  qua  non  which  the  United  Brethren 
could  or  would  not  accede  to,  so  we  parted  and  came  to  Young- 
manstown Newcomer''  s  Journal. 

October  25,  John  Snook  and  wife  conveyed  the  school-house 
lot  in  Union  township  to  Christian  Gundy,  et  al.,  trustees,  bounded 
by  Macpherson,  Jenkins,  Epler,  &c. 

November  12,  the  county  commissioners  met  at  Mififlinburg  and 
elected  Flavel  Roan  clerk,  at  $1  33  per  day  while  on  duty.  Hired 
a  room  of  George  Roush  for  the  prothonotary.  Standard  of  valua- 
tion of  first-rate  land  :  East  Buffalo,  $40  ;  West  Buffalo,  $40  ;  Bea- 
ver, $30 ;  Centre,  $30 ;  Hartley,  $40 ;  Penn's,  ^40  ;  Mahantango, 
^40  ;  White  Deer,  $40  5  Washington,  ^30. 

March  30,  Henry  Beck  came  to  Lewisburg  from  Earl  township, 
Berks  county.  Then  Frederick  Freedley  owned  Brown's  mill ;  George 
Knox  had  Hull's  tan-yard ;  Henry  Spyker  lived  in  the  brick  house 
at  the  river ;  Robert  Smith,  a  boatman,  where  James  S.  Marsh  lives; 


^/^  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1813. 


Mathias  Shaffer,  in  a  two-story  house,  where  M.  Halfpenny  now  lives  ; 
Richard  McClure,  vvhere  his  grandchildren  do  now  ;  William  Evans, 
where  Joseph  Housel  now  lives ;  on  the  opposite  side  lived  Evans' 
sister.  These  were  all  on  Front  street.  Garman  kept  ferry  at  the 
stone  house,  now  Martin  Hahn's  ;  John  Sargent  had  a  nail  factory, 
where  F.  Davis  now  lives ;  Andrew  Shearer  kept  at  Weidensaul's  \ 
William  McQuhae  had  a  store^  where  C.  S.  Wolfe  now  lives.  George 
Kremer's  was  the  only  store-house  on  the  river ;  James  Black  had  a 
distillery,  and  kept  store  just  above  the  latter,  and  where  Norton's 
coal-yard  now  is  ;  White  Roost,  now  M.  Halfpenny's,  was  occupied 
by  Billman ;  the  old  Albright  tavern  by  William  Poak.  At  the 
mouth  of  Buffalo  creek  there  were  three  houses,  owned  and  occupied 
by  John  Pross,  Valentine  Miller,  &c.  Leisenring,  a  potter,  lived 
opposite  John  A.  Mertz's;  Mrs.  Nicely's  lot  was  occupied  by  John 
Lawshe,  senior;  J.  B.  Linn's,  by  John  Metzgar;  Esquire  Cameron's, 
the  Black  Horse,  was  kept  by  John  Lawshe,  junior  ;  George  Kremer 
had  a  store,  where  Jonathan  Wolfe  now  lives.  Second  street  was 
then  vacant  down  to  Joseph  Glass'  lots,  lying  in  common,  and  pine 
trees  growing  on  them.  The  brick  house  of  Joseph  Glass  was  built 
by  Henry  Beck  in  1823;  Joseph  Bennett  lived  where  the  Union  Na- 
tional Bank  now  is ;  on  part  of  Peter  Beaver's  lot,  Henry  Burget 
kept  a  tavern  ;  George  Metzgar  lived  where  Captain  Brooke  has  his 
jewelry  store,  and  had  a  hatter  shop ;  an  old  log  house,  in  from  the 
street,  next  Jonathan  Wolfe's,  was  occupied  by  John  Montgomery ; 
old  Mr.  Kimmell  kept  store  in  the  next  house  ;  William  Hayes  kept 
store  where  Peter  Nevius'  widow  now  lives.  Doctor  Beyers  lived  on 
the  corner  of  Third  and  St.  Catherine.  No  house  from  there  to  Mar- 
ket. Alexander  Graham  lived  and  kept  store  on  Doctor  Harrison's 
corner.  There  were  no  houses  on  Third  street  north.  On  the  Bill- 
myer  lot,  depot  lot,  &c.,  was  a  large  pond,  where  they  often  shot 
ducks.  On  Fourth  and  St.  Louis,  Betsy  Ammon's  house  was  built 
this  year.  There  was  an  old  house  at  the  race  at  St.  George,  and 
one  at  the  east  end  of  Fourth,  occupied  by  Strickland ;  Doctor  Wil- 
son's lot  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Espy,  who  kept  tavern ;  on  William 
Moore's,  Thomas  Poak  kept  bachelor's  hall,  and  a  brewery;  Wil- 
liam Shearer  lived  in  the  old  house,  lately  standing  on  Cherry  alley, 
and  followed  weaving ;  opposite  C.  Gemberling's,  Caleb  Fairchild 
had  a  blacksmith  shop ;  north  was  a  stone  house,  occupied  by  Daniel 


1813.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  413 

Rees  as  a  tavern  ;  C.  Beyers'  was  occupied  by  a  family  named  Sey- 
del ;  next  was  Sam  Grove,  a  boatman  ;  Adam  Grove  lived  on  Thomas 
Nesbit's,  deceased,  lot ;  he  was  the  youngest  of  the  Grove  brothers, 
Indian  fighters,  and  followed  boating ;  James  Geddes  lived  on  the, 
corner  of  Fourth  and  St.  Anthony,  and  had  a  saddler  shop ;  next, 
north,  John  Norton,  and  the  next  Burgets'  house,  which  Henry 
Beck  moved  into.  On  the  opposite  side  lived  John  Moore,  famous 
many  years  as  a  blacksmith  :  George  Snider,  father  of  widow  Stro- 
hecker,  lived  where  John  Bieber  lately  resided ;  there  was  an  old 
tan-yard  on  the  property. 

The  streets  were  re-surveyed  in  the  spring  of  181 3,  and  a  slight 
angle  made  to  suit  the  buildings.  James  Geddes  and  Thomas  Fisher 
carried  on  a  tannery.  Peter  Nevius,  Joseph  McCool,  and  Andrew 
Best  were  their  apprentices.  John  Musser  lived  at  the  Slifer  mansion 
farm.  High's  mill,  at  the  fording,  was  then  abandoned.  George 
Derr  had  built  another  mill,  where  Joseph  W.  Shriner's  now  is.  In 
repairing  it,  some  years  ago,  Mr.  Shriner  found  an  old  stone,  with 
date  of  1778  carved  upon  it,  no  doubt  the  date  of  Gundy's  mill, 
a  few  rods  above  it.  On  Derr's  farm  lived  Abram  Troxell  and  Wil- 
liam C.  Davis;  John  Guyer,  on  the  Shuck  place  ;  Thomas  McGuire 
kept  tavern  at  the  old  ferry,  now  George  F.  Miller,  Esquire's ;  Jonas 
Butterfield  kept  school  in  the  Market  street  school-house,  now  Pres- 
byterian parsonage  ;  Breyvogel  kept  where  the  Lutheran  parsonage 
now  stands  ;  Charles  Cameron  lived  on  Front  and  St.  Mary's. 
Among  those  who  enlisted  in  the  regular  army.  Doctor  Beck  recol- 
lects of  Valentine  Miller,  George  Christ,  Dennis  O,  Boyle,  John 
Buck,  and  Alexander  Hutchinson.  Abram  Fry  lived  at  the  boat- 
yard :  Granny  Phillips  kept  cakes  and  beer  next  the  Revere  House, 
on  late  Judge  Schnable's  lot ;  John  McFadden  kept  tavern  where 
Charles  Penny  now  lives.  John  Rees,  John  Beyers,  and  James  For- 
rest succeeded  Jonas  Butterfield,  as  school-teachers. 

May  16,  Justice  Spyker  fines  Henry  Burket,  Edward  Morton,  and 
William  Keller  each  $20,  for  horse- racing  on  Market  street,  Lewis- 
burg,  on  oath  of  Andrew  Shearer,  John  McFadden,  and  Thomas 
Fisher. 

June  I,  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  met  and  resolved  that  the 
president,  secretary,  and  directors  should  serve  free  gratis,  and  this 
agreement  was  to  remain  in  full  force  for  ever.    The  same  day,  John 


^i(,  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1813. 

Hayes'  account  for  surveying  the  town  was  examined  and  allowed. 
One  item  was  a  gallon  of  Geneva  whisky,  one  dollar. 

The  duplicate  for  1813  and  1814  amounted  to  $96  88.  Expen- 
ditures on  streets  and  survey,  in  full,  $103  06. 

November  2.  George  Sweeny  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
Colmnbia  Gazette,  at  Northumberland,  a  strong  war  paper,  and  the 
Siinbury  and  Northumberland  Gazette  of  A.  Kennedy  was  sus- 
pended. Kennedy  was  a  Federalist,  and  the  war  feeling  was  too 
strong  for  that  paper.  Chillisquaque  and  Northumberland  county 
up  to  the  Lycoming  line  had  been  erected  into  Columbia  county, 
accounting  for  the  new  name.  In  181 5  this  territory  was  put  back 
to  Northumberland. 

Manlnges. 

January  24,  Jacob  Billman  to  Charity ,  daughter  of  Caleb. 

February  4,  Paul  Goodlander  with  Rachael  Heckel,  daughter  of 
Andrew.  February  11,  Jesse  Dickson  to  Polly  Merkel,  daughter  of 
Christian.  April  i,  Philip  Lesher  to  Polly  Billmyer,  daughter  of 
Andrew.  April  4,  Alexander  Donarchy  with  Fanny  Seitz,  daughter 
of  George.  April  6,  Daniel  Keenly  with  Maria  Richter,  daughter  of 
John.  May  16,  Samuel  Dersham  with  Susanna  Shadel.  August  i, 
Levi  Burd  with  Eve  Winegarden,  daughter  of  Henry.  August  12, 
Francis  Jodon  with  Elizabeth  Cherry,  daughter  of  Charles.  August 
26,  Hugh  McLaughlin  with  Elizabeth  McClister. 

Deaths. 

February  i,  John  Sierrer,  leaving  a  widow,  Lucy,  and  the  follow- 
ing children:  Jacob,  Catherine,  married  to  Jacob  Reedy,  John, 
Elizabeth,  married  to  John  Frantz,  and  Sarah  to  George  Smith. 

William  Irwin,  Esquire,  member  of  Assembly  during  the  Revolu- 
tion.    He  left  all  his  property  to  William,  son  of  John. 

William  Clark,  an  original  settler,  leaving  widow,  Elizabeth. 
Children  :  George,  Mary,  (who  married  James  Forster,  and  was 
dead,  leaving  Jane,  married  to  Thomas  Smith,  John,  William,  and 
Ann,  married  to  George  Monroe,)  Rebecca,  Roan,  Sarah,  William, 
Walter,  Flavel,  and  James. 


fi 


1814.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  417 

February  21,  David  Watson,  father  of  late  David,  John  C,  and 
William  Watson,  aged  sixty-one. 

March  27,  Henry  Deal.  Family:  Henry,  junior,  Elizabeth, 
married  to  Jacob  Maize;  Mary,  to  John  Grossman;  Nancy,  to  Jona- 
than Waters ;  and  three  grand-daughters,  children  of  John :  Nancy 
William,  and  Elizabeth. 

Nicholas  Egbert,  West  Buffalo. 

May  18,  John  Bishop,  aged  seventy,  buried  at  New  Berlin. 

Christopher  Seebold. 

September  13,  Honorable  Thomas  Strawbridge,  aged  eighty-two. 

John  Walter,  of  Buffalo.  Children  :  John,  Benjamin,  William, 
George,  Jonathan,  Elizabeth,  married  to  Focht;  Catherine,  with 
George  Reed;  Margaret,  with  Adam  Witmer;  and  Mary,  with  John 
Rodman.     His  widow,  Margaret. 


1814. 


Lewisburg  Bridge  Chartered — First  Courts  Held  at  Mifflinburg — 
Battle  of  Chippewa — Captain  Evans  at  Foet  McHenry — Roster  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Weirick's  Regiment — Rolls  of  Captains 
Henry  Miller,  Jacob  Hummel,  Valentine  Haas,  John  Bergstresser, 

AND  NeR  MiDDLESWARTH's  COMPANIES. 

ENATOR,  Thomas  Murray,  junior,  elected  in  October. 
Members,  David  E.  Owen,  Robert.  Willett,  Joseph 
Hutchinson,  and  Henry  Shaeffer. 

On  the  2ist  of  March,  the  Houses  passed,  over  Gov- 
ernor Snyder's  veto,  the  act  regulating  banks.  One  was  allowed  for 
Northumberland,  Union,  and  Columbia,  to  be  called  the  Northum- 
berland, Union,  and  Columbia  Bank.  It  was  located  at  Milton. 
John  Dreisbach  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  this  bank. 

On  the  26th  of  March,  the  charter  of  the  bridge  over  the  Susque- 
27 


4i8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1814. 


hanna  at  Lewisburg,  was  granted  by  the  Assembly,  under  the  corpo- 
rate name  of  "The  President,  Managers,  and  Company  for  erecting 
a  Bridge  over  the  West  Branch  of  Susquehanna,  at  the  Town  of  Lew- 
isburg," and  John  Dreisbach,  Jacob  Brobst,  William  Hayes,  William 
McQuhae,  James  Geddes,  and  Andrew  Reedy,  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  open  subscription  books.  On  the  28th,  the  act  transfer- 
ing  all  suits,  and  all  unsettled  estates  where  the  defendant  or  de- 
cedent resided  in  the  territory  of  Union  to  its  courts,  was  passed. 

Roads  laido2it — From  Mortonsville,  by  Hugh  Wilson's  and  Derr's 
mill,  &c.,  two  and  one  half  miles;  from  Rockey's  mill  to  Reznor's 
saw-mill,  five  miles;  from  Reznor's  saw-mill  to  the  Brush  Valley  antl 
Mifflinburg  road,  four  miles  one  hundred  and  forty-one  perches. 

The  first  court  was  held  at  Mifflinbu-rg,  on  the  14th  of  February. 
First  grand  jurors,  John  Boal,  Adam  Regar,  Arthur  Thomas,  Jacob 
Musser,  John  Fisher,  James  Madden,  Robert  Chambers,  Valentine 
Haas,  Jacob  Houseworth,  John  Nogel,  James  McClure,  John  Wil- 
liams, Aaron  Chamberlin,  Levi  Zimmerman,  Philip  Gemberling, 
Frederick  Wurtz,  James  Caldwell,  Andrew  Grove,  David  Simmons, 
Abraham  Tenbrooke,  Henry  Ramstone,  John  Aurand,  John  Seidel, 
and  John  German.  The  commissions  of  Judges  Chapman  and  Wil- 
son were  read. 

On  motion  of  Enoch  Smith,  for  himself,  E.  G.  Bradford,  Samuel 
Hepburn,  Ebenezer  Greenough,  Charles  Maus,  William  Irwin,  and 
John  Lashells,  were  sworn  in  as  attorneys.  Oa motion  of  Mr.  Lash- 
ells,  John  Johnston,  and  Ethan  Baldwin.  William  Irwin  sworn  as 
deputy  attorney  general.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Bradford,  Charles 
Hall,  George  A.  Frick,  Alem  Marr,  and  Hugh  Bellas  were  qualified 
as  attorneys.  The  survivor  of  this  bar,  George  A.  Frick,  Esquire, 
of  Danville,  died  at  Danville,  June  10,  1872,  aged  eighty-five. 

April  21,  Gideon  Smith  sold  his  farm  on  Buffalo  creek  to  William 
Young.  Andrew  Kennedy,  junior,  commenced  a  paper  at  Mifflin- 
burg. He  sold  out  to  Henry  Shaup,  in  181 5,  and  the  latter  re- 
moved the  press  to  New  Berlin.  The  month  of  May  was  remark- 
able for  the  appearance  in  the  Valley  of  locusts  in  vast  numbers. 

June  28,  James  Banks,  of  Mifflin  county,  Henry  Haines,  of  Lan- 
caster, (EdNVard  Darlington  not  acting,)  commissioners  appointed 
by  Governor  Snyder,  met  at  Selinsgrove,  and  explored  the  county, 
generally,  and  viewed  a  number  of  different  situations  which  had 


1814.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  419 

been  in  contemplation.  After  considering  advantages  of  each,  and 
having  due  regard  to  territory  and  population,  they  reported  the 
village  of  New  Berlin,  alias  Longstown,  the  most  eligible  and  proper 
situation  in  the  county  of  Union  for  the  seat  of  justice  therein,  and 
fixed  the  site  of  buildings,  of  court-house  and  public  offices,  on  a  lot 
belonging  to  C.  Seebold,  Esquire,  and  the  site  for  a  prison  on  a  lot 
belonging  to  John  Solomon. 

Battle  of  Chippewa. 

Camp  at  Fort  Erie,  West  Canada,  /u/y  28,  181 4. 
Dear  Sir  :   Blood,  carnage,  death,   and  destruction  of  men  are 
the  contents  of  this  painful  letter.     On  the  2 2d,  we  had  orders  to 
reduce  our  baggage,  allowing  one  tent  to  ten  men,  and  two  shirts 
to  each  officer.     The  surplus  was  sent  across  the  Niagara,  at  Queens- 
town,  where  we  then  laid,  to  be  sent  to  Buffalo.     On  the  24th,  we 
marched  to  Chippewa.     On  the  25  th,  the  enemy  appeared  on  the 
heights,  near  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  two  miles  distant  from  our  camp. 
At  three  o'clock,  we  were  ordered  to  parade.     At  five,  our  brigade, 
under  General  Scott,  marched  out.     At  six,  the  action  commenced, 
when,  great  God  !  to  tell  the  details  from  that  time  till  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  is  impossible.     Could  I  converse  with  you  for  the  length 
of  time  we  were  engaged,  I  could  give  some  idea  of  it,  but  to  make 
an  attempt  will,  doubtless,  not  be  unsatisfactory  to  you.     Our  bri- 
gade fought  a  much  superior  force,  under  great  disadvantages,  for 
one  hour  and  a  half,  and  we  were  completely  cut  up,  more  than  half 
the  officers  and  men  being  killed  and  wounded,  when  the  second 
brigade,  commanded  by  General  Ripley,  came  to  our  assistance. 
The  enemy,  at  the  same  time,  received  reinforcements,  which  made 
the  action  again  severe.     General  Ryall  and  a  number  of  prisoners 
were,  previous  to  this,  taken  by  our  brigade.     Colonel  Brady  was 
wounded  before  we  were  fifteen  minutes  engaged,  and  commanded 
the  regiment  till  the  action  was  nearly  closed.     I  assisted  him  off 
and  on  his  horse  during  the  engagement,  when  he  was  like  to  faint 
from  loss  of  blood.     We  got  possession  of  the  heights,  and  kept  them 
till  we  got  off  our  wounded.     The  British  made  three  different  charges 
to  gain  them,  but  they  were  as  often  beat  back.     Our  brigade  made 
three  charges,  in  the  last  of  which  we  lost  three  officers  of  our  (the 


420  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1814. 

twenty-second)  regiment,  our  brave  General  Scott  heading  each 
charge.  He  was  severely  wounded  in  the  shoulder  near  the  close 
of  the  action.  General  Brown  was  also  wounded.  When  we  re- 
turned from  the  ground,  there  were,  of  our  regiment,  Major  Arrow- 
smith,  myself,  and  thirty  privates,  that  marched  into  camp.  The 
balance  were  killed,  wounded,  missing,  and  in  camp.  Colonel 
Brady  can  inform  you  that  I  was  the  only  platoon  officer  of  our 
regiment  that  kept  the  ground  to  the  last,  and  marched  in  with  the 
men.  For  the  satisfaction  of  your  friends  and  yourself,  I  inclose  you 
a  copy  of  our  report  of  the  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  ;  likewise, 
the  officers'  names  who  were  in  the  action.  Our  wounded  are  at 
Buffalo,  in  good  quarters.  Let  me  hear  from  you. 
I  am  yours,  sincerely, 

Samuel  Brady, 
Twenty-second  Infantry. 
Captain  Bethuel  Vincent. 

N.  B.  Our  total  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  on  that  day 
must  have  been  eight  hundred.  The  British  loss  no  doubt  exceeded 
that,  as  General  Ryall  acknowledged  that  they  were  whipped  when 
he  was  taken,  and  we  fought  two  hours  after  that,  and  took  nineteen 
British  officers. 

You  shall  see  the  report  in  my  next.  I  wish  you  to  show  it  to  my 
friends,  but  it  must  not  be  published. 

13th  September,  occurred  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry, 
Baltimore.  Frederick  Evans  was  then  a  captain  in  the  second  regi- 
ment of  artillery.  His  commission  is  dated  23d  July,  181 2,  to  rank 
from  the  6th.  Mrs.  George  Kremer  told  me  he  assisted  in  building 
the  fort,  and  was  one  of  its  noble  defenders.  He  often  described 
the  scene  inside  as  terrific.  Three  bomb-shells  struck  and  exploded 
inside  of  the  fort,  and  he  remarked  one  man  shaking  as  if  he  had  a 
chill.  He  asked  to  sit  under  one  of  the  cannon.  Evans  gave  him 
permission,  when  shortly  another  shell  struck  inside  and  killed  him 
instantly.  Another  man  was  killed  within  three  feet  of  him.  Their 
coffee  ran  out,  and  they  had  very  little  to  eat  for  three  days.  He 
spoke  of  a  woman  who  brought  water  for  them.  A  bomb-shell  hit- 
ting her,  exploded,  and  she  was  blown  to  atoms.  He  brought  a 
small  piece  of  her  dress  home  with  him,  the  largest  part  of  her 
remains  that  he  could  find.     The  fourth  shell  that  came  in  was 


1814.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  421 

marked  "a  present  from  the  King  of  England."  This  did  not  ex- 
plode. It  weighed  within  two  pounds  as  much  as  an  ordinary  bar- 
rel of  flour.  This  he  brought  home  with  him,  and  it  may  still  be 
seen  at  Evans'  mill,  in  Juniata  county.  He  said  only  four  shells 
fell  inside. 

Muster  Roll  of  the  Field  and  Staff  Officers  belonging  to  the  Regi- 
ment, or  Detachment,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  George 
Weirick,  Brigadier  General  H.  Spearing,  First  Brigade,  Second 
Division,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

Lieutenant  Colonel — George  Weirick,  September  24,  181 4. 
Majors — William  Taggert  and  Jacob  Lechner,  September  24,  1 81 4. 
Adjutant — George  Coryell,  September  24,  181 4. 
Surgeon — John  Y.  Kennedy,  September  24,  181 4. 
Surgeon's  Mate — Thomas  Vanvalzah,  September  24,  181 4. 
Quartermaster — George   Clingan,  October    31,   1814;    Quarter- 
master Sergeant,  John  Reehl,  November  5. 
Sergeant  Major — Daniel  Rohrer,  October  5. 
Aid-de-camp  to  General  Spearing — Hugh  Maxwell. 
Camp  Marcus  Hook,  November  14,  181 4. 

Roll  of  Captain  Henry  Miller's  Company. 

Pay-roll  of  the  company  of  infantry  from  Union  county,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Henry  Miller,  attached  to  the  regiment 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Weirick,  Marcus  Hook, 
November  10,  181 4: 

Captain — Miller,  Henry. 

Lieutenant — McMillan,  John. 

Sergeants — Williams,  Benjamin  ;  Rearick,  John  ;  Ruhle,  Philip  ; 
Francis,  William. 

Corporals — Specht,  Adam  ;  Wilson,  Foster  ;  Spangler,  George  ; 
Robinson,  Richard. 

Privates — Baker,  George  ;  Baker,  Peter  ;  Barber,  John  ;  Bitting, 
Charles ;  Bobb,  Conrad ;  Bobb,  John ;  Black,  Robert ;  Bossier, 
George  ;  Cooke,  Andrew  ;  Coryell,  George,  appointed  sergeant  ma- 
jor, September  26,  181 4;   Crossgrove,  Samuel;  Dar,  Elias ;  Dreis- 


422  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1814. 

bach,  John;  Dreisbach,  Thomas  ;   Dunsipe,  Daniel;  Egbert,  Cyrus; 
Eilert,  William;  Farres,  Garrett;  Forster,  William;  Fought,  George; 
Fought,  Jacob  ;   Fox,  Conrad  ;' Fry,  John  ;  Gearig,  Jacob;   Gear- 
hart,  Samuel;  Gill,  John;  Gill,  William,  discharged  October  26, 
1814,  died  at  Bellefonte,  November  21,  1876,  aged  eighty-nine; 
Hanius,    Peter,    (called    Panier;)    Herger,    Henry;    Hasenplugh, 
Henry ;    Hasenplugh,    Samuel ;     Kleckner,    Abraham ;    Kleckner, 
Anthony;  Kleckner,  Isaac  ;  Maclay,  John,  appointed  assistant  quar- 
termaster general,  October  9,  1814  ;    Mangel,  David  ;  Mayer,  John 
Moyer,  John  ;  Moyer,  William ;   Myer,  William ;  Norman,  John 
Phelps,  Francis;  Rearick,  John;  Reichly,  William;  Ritter,  Henry 
Rote,  John;  Royer,  Henry;  Saunders,  Michael ;  Shaffer,  William 
Shaffer,  Jacob ;    Smith,  John ;    Snyder,  Michael ;    Sleer,  George 
Shaw,  Samuel ;  Slough,  Benjamin  ;  Stitzer,  David  ;  Spangler,  Chris- 
tian ;  Speer,  David ;    Spiegelmeyer,  Daniel ;  Solomon,  Abraham  ; 
Thompson,  James  ;  Weight,  John  ;   Zimmerman,  Jacob. 

Roll  of  Captain  Jacob  Hummers  Company. 

Pay-roll  of  the  company  of  infantry  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Jacob  Hummel,  attached  to  the  regiment  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  George  Weirick,  Marcus  Hook,  November  10,  1S14. 

Captain — Hummel,  Jacob. 

Lieutenant — Brady,  Walter. 

Ensign — Swartz,  Francis  B. 

Sergeants — Baldy,  Stephen ;  Eisely,  John  ;  Hammer,  John  ; 
James,  John  S. 

Corporals — Gordon,  John  B. ;  Petery,  John  ;  Leisenring,  Jacob  ; 
Martin,  James. 

Privates — App,  John  ;  Applegate,  John  :  Armstrong,  John  ;  Barn- 
hart,  John;  Bear,  William;  Bestler,  Henry;  Born,  John;  Buck- 
ner,  John;  Burn,  Henry;  Buyers,  John;  Campbell,  John;  Ca- 
ruthcrs,  Andrew;  Conor,  Daniel;  Crutchley,  John;  Delany,  Dan- 
iel; Espy,  George;  Forly,  George;  Furman,  Jona ;  Gearhart, 
Daniel;  Haupt,  Henry;  Hedrick,  Jacob;  Housel,  John;  Hoy, 
L<Kkwood  G. ;  Huff,  Benjamin  ;  Hull,  Isaac;  Lowdon,  Zachariah; 
McCloughen,  Joseph;  Mahoney,  William;  Marsh,  Griggs;  Mettler, 
William;  Mirely,  Balser;  More,  David;  Morgan,  Joseph;  Morgan, 


1814.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  423 

James  ;  Masteller,  John  ;  Newcomer,  Abraham  ;  Overdurf,  Peter  ; 
Redline,  John ;  Renn,  John  W.  ;  Rinehart,  Frederick ;  Ringler, 
Daniel;  Roadarmel,  John;  Sterner,  Henry;  Stroh,  Jonathan; 
Wagner,  Christian ;  Warner,  James  ;  Weaver,  Frederick ;  Willet, 
Wilham  ;  Willet,  Samuel ;  Woodruff,  Elias  ;  Woldigan,  William  ; 
Zeluff,  David. 

Roll  of  Captain  Valentine  Haas'  Company. 

Roll  of  the  company  of  infantry  from  Union  county,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Valentine  Haas,  seventy-seventh  regiment 
Pennsylvania  militia,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  George 
Weirick,  Marcus  Hook,  November  10,  181 4. 

Captain — Haas,  Valentine. 

Lieutenant — Shedle,  Samuel. 

Sergeants — Eckhart,  Jacob  C. ;  Hosterman,  George ;  Boyer, 
Henry  ;  Hendricks,  Andrew. 

Corporals — Johnston,  John  ;  Kleckner^  Jacob  ;  Richter,  Freder- 
ick ;  Overmyer,  David. 

Privates — Alter,  Joseph,  discharged  October  5  ;  Bachman,  Lo- 
renzo ;  Bear,  Isaac ;  Berger,  Joseph ;  Berman,  Anthony ;  Benfer, 
George  ;  Binckly,  Jacob  ;  Bous,  Frederick  ;  Bosler,  Jacob  ;  Brous, 
Henry;  Buttenstine,  Philip ;  Clendinin,  John;  Doebler,  Ludwig ; 
Derk,  Jonathan  ;  Doffe,  John  ;  Duke,  Jacob  ;  Duke,  George  ;  Ever- 
hard,  Barnes ;  Everhard,  Philip ;  Fetter,  Benjamin ;  Folk,  John ; 
Foltz,  Joseph;  Gordon,  Willis;  Gaugher,  Jonas;  Grim,  JEenry; 
Haas,  Henry ;  Haas,  Daniel ;  Hentricks,  E. ;  Herrold,  Philip ; 
Hobb,  Frederick ;  Hummel,  John  H.  ;  Jarrett,  Jacob ;  Karstetter, 
George;  Keely,  John,  discharged  October  22;  Kesler,  Michael; 
Kreisher,  Henry  ;  Kreitzer,  Frederick ;  Kuns,  John  ;  Miller,  Dan- 
iel;  Mowrer,  Jacob;  Moyer,  Philip;  Neitz,  Jacob;  Pontius,  Henry; 
Rettig,  William ;  Richenbach,  John ;  Rusher,  John ;  Shedler, 
Jacob  ;  Shoemaker,  Peter  ;  Smith,  Abraham  ;  Smith,  John ;  Smith, 
Joseph ;  Sold,  Philip ;  Spaid,  Henry ;  Stahl,  Henry ;  Stimeling, 
George;  Stock,  Peter;  Swartz,  Peter;  Swartzlender,  George; 
Trester,  John ;  Wagner,  George ;  Weaver,  John  ;  Weller,  Isaac  ; 
Witmer,  Samuel;  Woodling,  Henry;  Wool,  Daniel;  Yeager,  John; 
Yeager,  Adam  ;  Yeisly,  Henry :  Yerger,  Philip  ;  Yordon,  John ; 
Young,  Ludwig. 


424  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1814. 

Roll  of  Captain  John  Bergstresser' s  Company. 

Pay-roll  Union  county  company  of  militia,  attached  to  the  regi- 
ment commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Weirick,  Marcus 
Hook,  November  i8,  1814. 

Captain — Bergstresser,  John. 

Lieutenant — Fisher,  Thomas. 

Ensign — Noll,  Henry. 

Sergeants — Silsby,  Uriah  ;  Reedy,, Philip ;  Gillaspy,  John  ;  Reng- 
ler,  Daniel;  Merwine,  Samuel;  Sargint,  John;    Clingan,  George. 

Corporals — Nevyus,  William  ;  Vartz,  John  ;  McCorley,  Jacob  ; 
Lutz,  John. 

Privates — Aikey,  Lewis  ;  Anderson,  James  H.  ;  Baldy,  Benjamin  ; 
Bellman,  George;  Bennage,  Samuel;  Bennett,  John;  Bidleman, 
Abraham  ;  Bower,  William-;  Bower,  George ;  Bower,  John ;  Camp- 
bell, William;  Campbell,  John;  Campbell,  Joseph;  Clarke,  Joseph; 
Clark,  Havel ;  Clark,  Francis  ;  Clark,  William  ;  Darraugh,  John  ; 
Dempsey,  Jonathan  ;  Darsham,  Ludwig  ;  Diefenderfer,  Philip  ;  Eg- 
burd,  Jesse ;  Flickingner,  Charles ;  Frederick,  Peter ;  Frederick, 
Jacob  ;  Frederick,  Samuel ;  Gilman,  Jacob  ;  Goodlander,  Paul ; 
Hufford,  John ;  Heiser,  Frederick,  discharged  October  2  ;  Herren- 
don,  William  ;  Housel,  Joshua  ;  Hubler,  Jacob  ;  Irwin,  John  ;  Irvin, 
William  ;  Jamison,  John  ;  Jodun,  William  ;  Jodun,  Benjamin  ;  John- 
ston, Thomas;  Jones,  John;  Kaufman,  Jacob;  Kelly,  Andrew,  dis- 
charged'October  28;  Kimmell,  Adam;  Kunts,  Daniel;  Kline, 
Abram  ;  Kline,  George  ;  Lilley,  Peter,  discharged  October  3  ;  Lutz, 
Samuel;  McClure,  Richard;  McGuire,  Richard ;  McKinley,  Hugh, 
McLaughlin,  James;  Maughamer,  Daniel ;  Magee,  James  ;  Mizener, 
John  ;  Mengel,  George ;  Mowry,  Peter ;  Myers,  Peter ;  Moyer, 
Henry ;  Quinn,  Michael ;  Rees,  John ;  Ranck,  Jonathan ;  Rora- 
bough,  Christopher ;  Rorabough,  Philip ;  Rose,  Adam ;  Shaffer, 
Daniel ;  Shaffer,  Henry,  substitute  for  John  Hummel ;  Sheckler, 
Jonas  ;  Sheckler,  Simon ;  Smith,  Jonathan  ;  Smith,  Adam  ;  Steel, 
Richard  ;  Steel,  David  ;  Stoner,  Daniel ;  Strickland,  Samuel ;  Stru- 
ble,  Peter;  Sypher,  Jacob;  Vanderhoof,  Henry;  Vanderhoof,  Wil- 
liam ;  Vanhorn,  William  ;  Vanhorn,  Abram  ;  Wallace,  James  ;  Wal- 
ters, John  ;  Welch,  Nicholas;  Williamson,  Gideon;  Wilson,  Thomas, 
Wilson,  Samuel;  Young,  Abraham;  Zearphus,  George,  (Sarphus.) 


1814.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  425 

In  Captain  Robert  McGuigan's  company,  November  12  to  24, 
we  find  the  names  of — Egbert,  John  ;  Hafer,  James  ;  Haslet,  Joseph  ; 
Ranck,  Adam ;  Stadden,  William ;  Vanlew,  Peter  ;  Whitacre,  John  ; 
Wurtz,  Daniel. 

Roll  of  Captain  William  F.  Buyers'  Company. 

Roll  of  the  Northumberland  County  Blues,  volunteer  company, 
attached  to  the  regiment,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel 
George  Weirick,  Marcus  Hook,  November  10,  181 4. 

Captain — Buyers,  William  F. 

Lieutenants — Jenkins,  Thomas  S. ;  Scott,  Samuel  H. 

Ensign — Hepburn,  John. 

Sergeants — Wilson,  Samuel  H.;  Wallis,  Joseph  T.j  Sweeney,  A.  M. 

Corporal — Reehl,  John. 

Fifer — Armor,  William. 

Drummer — DeLong,  Samuel. 

Privates — Armstrong,  Jacob  ;  Black,  David  ;  Bonham,  Thomas ; 
Buyers,  George  P. ;  Cameron,  William  ;  Campbell,  Robert ;   Chap- 
man, Edward;  Cooke,  William  ;  Cook,  Adam  ;   Cramer,  Joseph  B.; 
Cramer,  Abram ;  Dale,  Henry ;  Dieus,  William ;  Dougal,  James  S.; 
Frazier,  Charles;    Gale,  William;    Grant,  Mact ;    Grant,  Thomas, 
junior,  discharged  October  23  ;  Grant,  William  M. ;  Gray,  William ; 
Harris,  Thomas ;    Hendershot,  Isaac  ;    Hopfer,  Jacob  ;    Huffman, 
Joseph ;  Jones,  William ;  Jones,  Jeremiah ;  Latherland,  William 
Layton,  William ;  Lebo,  Daniel ;  Lyon,  Robert ;  Lyon,  Jeremiah 
McCord,  Isaac ;  McPherson,  John  ;  Martin,  John  ;  Maus,  Charles 
Oliphant,  James ;  Prune,  George  ;  Quinn,  John  ;  Reininger,  Henry 
Rockele,  Theodore  J.  ;    Ross,  John  ;    Watson,  William  ;    Weisner, 
John  ;  Weitzel,  George  ;  Wilson,  Samuel. 

Jacob  Armstrong,  John  Martin,  Robert  Campbell,  and  William 
Dieus,  drafts  in  Captain  Hummel's  company,  joined  my  company 
on  29th,     They  have  been  in  service  the  same  time  our  company  has. 

William  F.  Buyers, 
Captain  Northumberland  County  Blues. 

The  following  memoranda  are  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Weirick' s 
order-book,  now  in  possession  of  M.  L.  Schoch,  Esquire,  of  New 
Berlin  : 


426  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1814. 

General  Order,  dated  at  Headquarters,  Fourth  Militia  District, 
Philadelphia,  October  19,  181 4. 

The  advance  corps  will  consist  of  the  light  brigade,  under  Briga- 
dier General  Cadwalader,  who  will  report  directly  to  the  command- 
ing general,  and  act  alone  under  his  orders,  and  those  of  the  War 
Department.  Colonel  Irvine's  regiment  of  regulars  will  support  the 
advance.  The  army  of  the  center  will  consist  of  Brigadier  General 
Spearing's,  Smith's,  and  Snyder's  brigades,  forming  Major  General 
Worrell's  division.  The  volunteers  and  recruits  at  Bush  Hill  will 
form  the  reserve.  The  New  Jersey  troops,  under  General  Elmer, 
form  the  left  wing.  The  officers  and  men  of  the  fifth  United  States 
infantry,  at  camp  near  New  Castle,  will  form  a  detachment,  under 
the  immediate  command  of  the  senior  officer,  and  act  under  Colonel 
Irvine. 

By  order  of 

Major  General  Edward  P.  Gaines. 

Major  General  Isaac  Worrell's  headquarters  were  transferred  to 
Marcus  Hook,  on  the  20th  of  October.  Henry  Sheets,  major  general, 
second  division  ;  Brigadier  General  Henry  Spearing  commanding 
first  brigade,  second  division, — drafted  militia,  Northampton,  Mont- 
gomery, Lehigh,  Pike,  Northumberland,  &c. ;  Hugh  Maxwell,  aid- 
de-camp  ;  Thomas  J.  Rodgers  and  W.  C.  Rodgers,  brigade  majors. 

November  13,  Ensign  Farnsworth  transferred  to  Captain  Miller's 
company.  November  15,  Lieutenant  Colonels  Heister  and  Weirick, 
and  the  field  officers  of  their  respective  commands,  ordered  to  report, 
at  twelve  o'clock,  at  General's  quarters,  to  decide  their  precedence 
of  rank  by  lot. 

John  Campl)ell,  Griggs  Marsh,  and  David  Moore,  who  have  been 
absent  without  leave,  have  come  this  day,  and  joined  their  compa- 
nies. I,  therefore,  order  the  same  to  be  entered  on  the  regimental  book. 

George  Weirick, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Commanding. 

November  16.  The  above,  who  have  been  reported  as  deserters, 
are  to  be  tried  as  absentees. 

George  Weirick, 
Lieutenant  Colonel. 


1814. J  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  427 

November  16,  lot  determined  in  favor  of  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Weirick,  who  is  hereby  announced  first  lieutenant  colonel  in  first 
brigade,  second  division,  Pennsylvania  militia,  under  the  command 
of  Brigadier  General  Henry  Spearing,  and  is  to  be  obeyed  and 
respected  accordingly.  It  was  determined  to  mutual  satisfaction 
that  Major  Taggert  was  properly  entitled  to  the  first  rank  and  Major 
Lechner  to  the  second  rank  in  Colonel  Weirick's  regiment,  and  will 
hereafter  take  precedence  accordingly. 

November  17,  the  lot  for  rank  of  captain  resulted:  first  captain, 
Miller  ;  second,  Hummel ;  third,  Haas  ;  fourth,  Bergstresser.  The 
court-martial  held  at  Adjutant  Coryell's  marquee,  John  Bergstresser, 
president,  Lieutenants  John  McMillan  and  Samuel  Shedle  members, 
Thomas  Jenkins,  judge  advocate,  sentenced  John  Campbell,  Griggs 
Marsh,  and  David  Moore  to  stand  camp  guard  every  other  day,  and 
to  be  within  the  limits  of  the  camp  during  the  remainder  of  their 
tour. 

November  23.  The  German  troops  in  Major  General  Sheetz's 
division  will  be  formed  upon  the  parade  to-morrow,  at  ten  o'clock, 
with  their  side  arms,  for  divine  worship  in  German. 

The  last  orders  in  the  book  are  dated  at  Marcus  Hook,  December 
I  :  The  sick  troops  are  to  be  discharged  on  furlough  to  their  res- 
pective homes  until  further  orders.     Adjutant  of  the  day,  Coryell. 

The  discharge  of  Peter  Myers,  signed  by  Captain  John  Berg- 
stresser, is  dated  Philadelphia,  December  20,  181 4,  and  I  presume 
that  is  the  date  of  the  muster  out  of  the  regiment. 

Pay-roll  of  the  Union  Rifle  Volunteers,  commanded  by  Captain  Ner 
Middleswarth,  attached  to  the  Rifle  Battalion,  commanded  by 
Captain  John  TJhle,  in  the  Light  Brigade,  commanded  by  General 
Thomas  Cadwalader,  in  actual  service  at  Camp  Dupont,  Octo- 
ber 27,  1814. 

Captain — Middleswarth,  Ner. 

Lieutenants — Mertz,  Isaac;   Aurand,  John. 

Ensign — Devore,  Daniel. 

Sergeants — Fryer,  Jacob;  Weiser,  Daniel;  Stees,  Frederick,  jun- 
ior; Weikel,  George. 

Corporals — Frederick,  Abraham ;  Layer,  Daniel ;  Swineford, 
Albright ;  Long,  Jacob. 


428  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1814. 

Privates — Beitler,  Jacob ;  Bird,  John;  Bowersox,  Daniel;  Boyer, 
Samuel;  Campbell,  Elias;  Carroll,  Henry  W. ;  Clemence,  George 
Dreese,  Henry ;  Ely,  Asher ;  Freedley,  Ludwig ;  Gilbert,  Jacob 
Gill,  Jacob ;  Gilmore,  Robert ;  Grubb,  Jacob  ;  Kaley,  Abraham 
Katherman,  John;  Kratzer,  Henry;  Kuhns,  John;  Loehr,  Joseph 
Loehr,  Peter ;  Martz,  Samuel ;  Miller,  Daniel ;  Miller,  Jacob 
Mitchell,  John ;  Moyer,  George ;  Moyer,  Jacob ;  Shneb,  Henry 
Smith,  James;  Stock,  Melchior  ;  Troxell,  Jacob;  Thurston,  Israel 
Wakey,  John  ;  Wales,  John ;  Weirick,  Henry ;  Wient,  George. 

Marriages. 

2 2d  February,  John  Beeber  married  to  Miss  Anna  Baker,  by  H. 
Spyker,  Esquire. 

Deaths. 

At  Lewisburg,  January  i6,  Charles  Cameron,  father  of  the  late 
John  Cameron,  William  Cameron,  Esquire,  General  Simon  Cam- 
eron, Mrs.  A.  B.  Warford,  of  Harrisburg,  Mrs.  Boggs,  of  Indiana, 
Colonel  James  Cameron,  who  was  killed  at  Bull  Run,  and  of  Daniel, 
who  died  in  the  naval  service. 

August  23,  Reverend  Isaac  Grier,  died  at  Northumberland.  Born 
1763;  graduated  at  Dickinson  college  in  17S8  ;  licensed  December 
21,  1 791.  He  taught  the  academy,  and  was  father  of  Honorable 
R.  C.  Grier,  Isaac  Grier,  D.  D.,  &c. 

John  Turner,  tailor,  of  Lewisburg.  He  left  a  widow,  Elizabeth, 
and  daughters,  Christena  and  Matilda. 

Jacob  Wolfe,  of  Buffalo,  leaving  a  widow,  Catherine,  and  chil- 
dren, Catherine,  Elizabeth,  Jacob,  John,  Jonathan,  and   Samuel. 

August  29,  Adam  Laughlin,  of  Hartley  township,  aged  sixty-six. 

Wendell  Baker,  of  East  Buffalo.  Children  :  John,  Jacob,  Mrs. 
Mathias  Alsbach.     Grandchildren  :  John  and  Ann  Mizener. 

October  14,  Paul  Collins,  of  West  Buffalo,  aged  seventy-nine. 

Adam  Struble,  of  West  Buffalo. 


i§i5. 


Courts  held  in  New  Berlin — Union  Township  Erected — St.  Peter's 
Church,  -Kelly — Death  of  Captain  William  Gray,  of  Buffalo. 

CT  8th  March  provided  that  after  the  first  Monday  of 
May,  the  courts  should  be  held  at  New  Berlin,  in  the 
court-house,  provided  a  full  and  sufficient  deed  be  made, 
b3|  for  the  consideration  of  sixty-seven  cents,  to  the  com- 
missioners, before  the  first  Monday  in  April,  for  the  court-house 
and  lot.  The  original  receipt  for  sixty-seven  cents  may  be  seen  in 
the  commissioner's  office,  at  Lewisburg.  nth  March,  Washington 
township  annexed  to  Lycoming. — P.  L.,  119.  April  i,  Hugh  Mc- 
Laughlin's land,  in  Kelly,  was  sold  to  John  Gotshall  for  S36  per 
acre,  and  the  Japhet  Martin  place,  East  Buffalo,  now  Frederick's, 
appraised  at  $48.  15th  April,  Reverend  C.  Newcomer  arrived  at 
Michael  Maize's.  "On  i6th  preached  at  Martin  Dreisbach's,  17th 
at  George  Miller's,  and  on  the  i8th  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Messrs.  Miller  and  Niebel  on  the  union  of  our  respective  societies, 
but  we  could  not  bring  it  about." 


Union  Township  Erected. 

September  sessions,  upon  the  report  of  Andrew  McLenachan,  John 
Hayes,  and  Adam  Wilt,  Union  township  was  erected,  with  the  fol- 
lowing boundary  :  Beginning  at  a  double  walnut,  on  the  West 
Branch,  (below  Jenkins'  mill,)  S.  73°  W.  3  miles  100  perches  to 
stones  on  the  top  of  Shamokin  ridge  ;  along  same,  S.  75°  W.  3  miles 
10  perches,  to  chestnut  oak  ;  N.  150  W.  i  mile  200  perches  to  top  of 

429 


430  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1815. 


Limestone  ridge;  S.  75°  VV.  2  miles  100  perches  to  line  between 
Buffalo  and  West  Buffalo  ;  along  same,  S.  150  perches  to  head  of  John 
Stees'  spring ;  thence  down  same  and  Switzer  run  to  Penn's  creek ; 
down  Penn's  creek  to  the  line  between  Buffalo  and  Penn's ;  thence 
along  the  same  to  the  river ;  thence  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of 
West  Branch ;  thence  up  West  Branch  to  beginning. 

St.  Peter's  Lutheran  Church,  in  Kelly, 

On  the  4th  of  November,  Christian  Zerbe  and  George  Reininger, 
trustees  in  the  conveyance  made  by  Jacob  Lotz,  executor  of  Philip 
Stahl,  granted,  permitted,  allowed,,  and  confirmed  the  full  right, 
liberty,  and  privilege  unto  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation (German  Reformed)  of  White  Deer  township,  in  common 
with  the  members  of  the  Lutheran  congregation  of,  in,  and  to  the 
aforesaid  premises  and  church,  when  built,  in  consideration  of  the 
German  Reformed  congregation  contributing  to  the  purchase  of  the 
lot  and  building  of  the  house,  (I^cc. 

Marriages. 

Daniel  Shannon  with  Christena  Pross,  February  23.  March  23, 
Samuel  Strickland  with  Elizabeth  Turner.  April  2,  Jonathan  Ranck 
with  Catherine  Long,  daughter  of  Joseph.  May  30,  Jacob  Wehr 
with  Margaret  Sassaman.  June  25,  Jacob  Rees  and  Elizabeth  Wil- 
liamson, in  presence  of  her  brother,  Gideon.  September  3,  FJlisha 
Barry  with  Elizabeth  Herbst,  daughter  of  Henry.  October  12, 
George  Mook  with  Julia  Fastnock,  daughter  of  Adam.  All  by 
Henry  Spyker,  Esquire. 

Deaths. 

4th  April,  Catherine,  wife  of  John  Dreisbach,  born  nth  March, 
1785.  Married  i8th  April,  1811.  nth  April,  Ehzabeth,  wife  of 
William  Wilson,  aged  fifty-seven.  June  27,  John  Freedly,  (miller,) 
"found  tliis  morning  lying  in  a  water  sluice,  in  his  meadow,  dead. 
George  Knox,  George  Schnable,  John  Lawshe,  senior,  George 
Metzgar,  Henry  Colway,  Philip  Lesher,  Alexander  Graham,  George 


1815.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


43r 


Kremer,  Robert  Smith,  Alexander  Morton,  Jonathan  Spyker,  and 
James  Knox,  a  jury  empaneled,  found  he  came  to  his  death  by  acci- 
dent, and  not  by  violence."  (He  was  the  owner  of  Ludwig  Derr's 
mill.) 

Captain  William  Gray,  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  Valley, 
died.  His  children  were  :  Sally,  Mrs.  Mary  Dunlap;  Susanna,  mar- 
ried first  to  William  Hudson,  after  his  death,  to  Andrew  Forster ; 
Eleanor,  to  John  Robinson  ;  Margaret,  to  John  Hayes,  Esquire  ; 
Nancy,  widow  of  Hudson  Williams ;  Jane,  widow  of  William  Wal- 
lace, married  to  Samuel  Hutchinson. 

Hugh  McLaughlin,  White  Deer.     He  lived,  adjoining  William 
Clingan's,  owning  a  farm  of  seventy  acres.     His  children  :  James 
Eleanor,  wife  of  William  Cameron,  Esquire;   Hugh,  who  recently 
(1871)  died  at  Lewisburg,  and  Margaret,  who  died  unmarried. 

Japhet  Morton,  East  Buffalo.  Children :  Edward,  William,  John, 
Alexander,  Isabella,  married  to  Thomas  McGuire,  and  Rachel  and 
four  grandchildren,  sons  of  Thomas,  deceased:  Martha,  Betsey, 
Polly,  and  Japhet. 

November  i.  Christian  Nevius,  aged  fifty-six.  He  left  a  widow, 
Lucretia,  who  died  January  19,  1841,  aged  seventy-five.  Children: 
Peter,  John,  Ann,  Ralph,  Aaron,  Elizabeth,  Phoebe,  and  Sarah. 


^^ 


i6. 


Hesry  Siiaup's  Newspaper — Susquehanna  Bible  Society  Formed  — 
Lewisburo  Bridge  Built — A  New  Church  at  Cross-Roads — Pres- 
idential Election — Simon  Snyder's  Letter  to  George  Kremer — 
Judge  Cooper  Transfered  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

TEMS  taken  from  Henry  Shaup's  Union  Newspaper — 
Markets  in  Philadelphia:  wheat,  $2.20;  rye,  $1.45; 
corn,  $1.50;  butter,  14  cents  pound. 

Proposals  are  published  by  Frederick  Gutelius,  James 
Dale,  and  John  Bower,  county  commissioners,  for  building  the  jail. 
Israel  Inman  was  the  principal  store-keeper  in  New  Berlin.  George 
Spring  notifies  all  persons  having  lots  in  the  town  of  Springfield,  to 
come  forward  on  the  ist  of  April,  and  lift  their  deeds  or  give  up 
their  tickets.  James  Merrill,  practicing  law  at  Mr.  Maurer's,  op- 
posite the  New  Berlin  hotel.  William  Poak  kept  hotel  at  Hartle- 
ton.  John  Grove's  vendue  at  New  Berlin.  James  Monroe  and 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins  nominated  for  President  and  Vice  President, 
by  the  Republican  members  of  Congress.  Simon  Snyder  had  thirty 
votes  in  caucus  for  Vice  President.  Aaron  Chamberlin  elected  col- 
onel, vice  George  Weirick,  resigned.  Philip  Franck,  watch-maker. 
New  Berlin.  George  Eiseijhuth,  merchant.  William  Dale  and 
John  Leany,  executors  of  Samuel  Fisher,  of  White  Deer,  advertise 
his  land  on  White  Deer  creek  for  sale.  A  public  market  held  in  New 
Berlin  on  the  20th  of  June,  continuing  three  days,  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  horses,  horned  cattle.  "  Here  the  weary  peddler  was  in- 
vited to  repose  a  few  days,  with  his  pack,  and  at  the  same  time  vend 
jewelry  to  his  advantage  ;  the  lovers  of  music  and  dancing,  to  spend 
the  careless  hours  in  pleasure.     Boxers  and  gamblers  are  not  invited, 

433 


1816.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  433 

but  may  attend  at  their  own  risk."  A  bear  beat  is  also  advertised 
as  one  of  the  attractions.  An  association  formed  to  suppress  horse- 
racing,  Abbot  Green,  treasurer.  John  Sargeant  and  Robert  Smith 
were  brought  before  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  who  fined  them  $20 
each.  He  notes' in  his  docket  that  "the  judges  of  Union  county  say 
this  is  wrong,  and  have  reversed  my  proceeding.  After  this,  the 
judges  may  fine  the  horse-racers  themselves." 

July  23,  Ann  Smith,  alias  Carson,  arrested  above  Harrisburg, 
with  two  companions,  who  called  themselves  Owen  Jones  and  Na- 
thaniel B.  Bard.  She  had  formed  plains  to  abduct  the  Governor, 
and  extort  by  violence  a  pardon  of  Richard  Smith,  convicted  of  the 
murder  of  Captain  Carson,  or,  failing  in  this,  to  seize  some  member 
of  his  family. 

Susquehanna  Bible  Society  formed  at  Milton,  John  B.  Patterson, 
president;  vice  presidents.  Reverend  Thomas  Hood  and  Judge  An- 
drew Albright.  Shaup  thus  notices  the  demise  of  the  The  Advocate 
of  the  Union,  Hugh  Maxwell's  paper  :  "  Union  county  has  lost  an 
Advocate,  Saturday,  2  7th  September,  after  a  lingering  illness  of  one 
year  and  seven  months.  The  remains,  we  understand,  have  been 
removed  to  Bellefonte." 

August  24.  Adam  Wilt  made  a  plan  of  New  Berlin,  showing  the 
original  as  laid  out  by  George  Long,  and  the  additions  made  by 
Christopher  Seebold,  Christian  Miller,  Henry  Gross,  Alexander 
and  James  Beatty.  This  plan  was  signed  by  the  lot  owners  of  New 
Berlin,  and  recorded  as  the  proper  plan  of  the  place.  Deed  book 
"  C,  "  page  198. 

Improvements. 

15th  March,  supplement  to  the  Lewisburg  bridge  charter  passed, 
authorizing  the  Governor  to  subscribe  four  hundred  shares  for  the 
State.  June  19,  the  company  organized.  July  4,  contract  made 
with  Reuben  Fields  for  the  erection  of  the  bridge  for  $52,600. 
$2,400  was  afterwards  allowed,  in  addition  to  the  contract  price. 
The  jail  at  New  Berlin  was  erected  this  year  by  Frederick  Hippie, 
of  Centre  township.  Contract  price,  $4,000.  The  stone  furnished 
by  Henry  Gross,  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  perch,  measured  in 
the  wall.  23d  February,  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  congregation  met, 
William  Clingan  called  to  the  chair,  James  McClellan,  secretary, 
28 


434  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1816. 

and  resolved  to  build  a  stone  meeting-house,  sixty  by  thirty-five. 
The  trustees  altered  it  to  fifty-two  by  forty ;  four  rows  of  seats,  and 
pulpit  in  the  end.  Jacob  Hartman  contracted  to  do  all  the  carpen- 
ter work  and  painting  for  $625.  William  McLaughlin  to  do  the 
mason  work  at  seventy-five  cents  per  perch.  This  stone  church 
stood  within  the  limits  of  the  present  grave-yard,  north-west  corner. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  23d  day  of  July.  It  was  com- 
pleted by  the  29th  of  December,  when  Mr.  Dunham  preached  the 
first  sermon  in  the  new  church,  from  Nehemiah,  iv  :  6  :  "  For  the 
people  had  a  mind  to  build."  19th  March,  181 7,  Mr.  Hood 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  new  pulpit.  Text,  John,  vi :  38 
and  39,  showing  the  reasonableness  of  the  doctrine  of  predestina- 
tion. 27th  April,  Peter  Burg  conveyed  to  Conrad  Philips  and  John 
Walters,  a  lot  on  Walnut  street  and  Apple  Tree  alley,  in  New  Berlin, 
for  a  grave-yard  for  the  use  of  the  Union  County  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation. 

At  the  October  election,  the  candidates  for  Congress  were  George 
Kremer,  William  Wilson,  David  Scott,  Charles  Maus,  and  Captain 
William  F.  Buyers.  William  Wilson  and  David  Scott  were  elected. 
At  this  election,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twelve  votes  were 
polled.  Democratic  majority  nearly  seven  hundred  and  fifty.  At 
the  November  election,  Monroe  and  Tompkins  received  six  hundred 
and  one  votes,  against  one  hundred  and  two  for  the  opposition  or 
Independent  Republican  ticket,  on  which  were  the  the  names  of 
Andrew  Gregg,  Christian  Brobst,  Daniel  Montgome;-y,  and  others, 
as  electors. 

October  11,  Reverend  C.  Newcomer  arrived  again  in  the  Valley; 
preached  at  old  Mr.  Eyers'.  12th,  at  Mr.  Dreisbach.  Sunday,  13th, 
had  meeting  in  the  forenoon  and  at  night.  14th,  conference  of  the 
Albright  brethren  commenced.  15th,  attended  a  funeral  at  Mr. 
Gilmore's;  at  night  preached  at  Solomon  Betz's.  i6th,  preached  at 
Youngmanstown  and  lodged  at  Mr.  Corl's.  Mail  arrives  at  New 
Berlin  once  a  week. 

Extracts  from  a  letter  from  Governor  Snyder  to  George  Kremer, 
24th  November  :  "I  should  like  much  to  see  you  pitted  against  that 
arch  fiend,  Lieb,  in  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  unless  Brobst 
resigns,  I  cannot  see  how  the  Speaker  could  constitutionally  issue  a 
writ  for  the  election  of  another.    A  writ  of  lunacy  could  be  awarded 


1816.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  435 

by  the  court  of  Union  county,  and  thereupon  a  writ  might  issue  for 
a  new  election.  The  people  might  memorialize  the  House,  that, 
through  mental  derangement,  the  act  of  God,  one  of  their  Repre- 
sentatives is  disqualified  to  represent  the  wisdom  of  the  county. 
This,  accompanied  by  certificates  from  regular-bred  physicians — 
Doctors  Dougal,  Vanvalzah,  &c. — would  undoubtedly  bring  the  ques. 
tion  fairly  before  the  House,  and  a  precedent  established  in  his  case, 
if  there  is  not  one  already,  in  this  country  or  in  England.  But,  if 
he  has  any  interval  of  sanity,  this  might  be  embraced  to  procure  his 
resignation.  Thus  all  difficulty  would  be  removed,  and  make  room 
for  your  election,  which,  I  suppose,  would  be  certain,  if  the  Longs- 
town  interest  does  not  oppose  you.  Whatever  may  be  done,  it  will 
be  all-important  to  keep  out  of  view  his  having  been  mad  before  his 
election,  or  that  the  people  were  so  who  elected  him." 

The  letter  refers  to  Jacob  Brobst,  who  became  insane.  He  lived 
just  above  Mifflinburg,  where  he  died.  The  path  the  poor  old  man 
tramped  in  his  fearful  spells  and  struggles  was  visible  many  years 
after  his  death. 

December  6.  Judge  Thomas  Cooper,  late  professor  at  Dickinson 
College,  Carlisle,  was  elected  professor  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Marriages. 

17th  January,  Daniel  Shriner  with  Catherine  Funston,  daughter 
of  William.  June  6,  John  Hayes  with  Jane  McFadden,  daughter 
of  John.  June  23,  Titus  Kemp  with  Betsey  Huntingdon,  in  pres- 
ence of  her  cousin,  Gabriel.  £0  die,  William  Francis,  widower, 
with  Catherine  Gettig,  widow.  November  7,  Henry  Moyer  with 
Polly  Strickland.  December  19,  John  Walters  with  Susanna  Moyer, 
daughter  of  John,  in  presence  of  her  brother,  Peter.  December  31, 
by  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries,  Jacob  Strayer  to  Rachel  Harmony,  of 
New  Berlin.  In  August,  John  Johnston,  (painter,)  of  New  Berlin, 
to  Elizabeth  Kress,  by  H.  Yearick,  Esquire. 

Deaths. 

9th  March,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Weirick,  wife  of  Colonel  George  Wei- 
rick,  aged  thirty-six. 


43b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1817. 

Peter  Bower,  East  Buffalo,  aged  sixty-eight. 

Killian  Dunkle,  East  Buffalo. 

John  Hoover,  of  West  Buffalo.  Children  :  George,  Jacob,  Ann, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Susan,  and  Christena. 

Philip  Gebhart.  Widow  :  Mary.  Children  :  Jonathan,  George, 
John,  Henry,  Michael,  Elizabeth,  Sally,  and  Mary. 

Daniel  Rees,  of  Buffalo,  left  widow,  Catherine,  and  children, 
Catherine  and  George  W. 

October  15,  Thomas  Sutherland,  father  of  Mrs.  Doctor  Thomas 
Vanvalzah,  aged  eighty-four.  (His  widow,  Jane,  died  July  9,  1819, 
aged  eighty-two.) 


181^. 


Political — Election    Returns — Lewisburg     Bridge — Henry    Spyker^ 
Esquire — Colonel  William  Chamberlin. 

|OHN  SNYDER,  United  States  Collector  Internal  Rev- 
enue. Postmasters  :  Lewisburg,  A.  Graham ;  New  Ber- 
lin, James  Merrill ;  Mifflinburg,  John  Orwig  ;  Hartle- 
ton,  James  Madden.  Republican  Standing  Committee, 
Henry  Yearick,  James  Geddes,  and  P.  F.  Deering.  19th  February, 
Democratic  Republican  Convention  held  at  New  Berlin.  John 
Gross,  president;  Henry  Yearick,  secretary.  Ner  Middleswarth 
and  James  Dale  appointed  delegates  to  the  State  Convention,  and 
William  Findlay,  of  Franklin,  recommended  for  Governor.  4th 
March,  William  Findlay  nominated  at  Harrisburg,  and  Joseph 
Hiester  by  the  Independent  Republicans,  at  Carlisle.  June  19, 
Stephen  Hughes,  chairman,  John  Mauck  and  Lewis  Bertram  secre- 
taries of  the  Hiester  meeting,  held  at  the  house  of  John  Solomon, 
in  New  Berlin.  July  12,  Findlay  meeting  held  at  New  Berlin; 
John  Wilson,  president;  James  Geddes  and  Christopher  Seebold 
secretaries.     Vigilance  committees  :  Hartley,  Adam  Wilt  and  Henry 


1817.1 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


437 


Roush  :  West  Buffalo,  Michael  Schoch,  John  Dreisbach,  Christo- 
pher Johnston,  John  Ray,  and  Robert  Forster ;  East  Buffalo,  James 
Dale,  John  Reber,  Andrew  Reedy,  and  George  Knox ;  White  Deer, 
Colonel  Aaron  Chamberlin,  A.  McClenachan,  Major  John  Ranck, 
and  Dan  Caldwell ;  Union,  Alexander  Boveard,  Michael  Waggoner, 
Jacob  Kline,  and  William  Kessler.  loth  September,  convention 
at  New  Berlin  ;  John  Orwig,  chairman;  Isaac  Mertz,  secretary.  Jo- 
seph Hiester  nominated  for  Governor.  Assembly,  Fred  Stees  and 
Joseph  Stillwell ;  commissioner,  Mishael  Lincoln ;  auditor,  Samuel 
Baum.  Delegates :  Union,  George  Eisenhuth ;  Hartley,  Abbot 
Green  and  William  Reed ;  West  Buffalo,  John  Orwig  and  Daniel 
Reeser ;  East  Buffalo,  Christian  Sterner  and  William  Hayes.  20th 
September,  General  Adam  Light  nominated  by  the  Independents 
for  Congress. 


ELECTION  BETUliNS. 

qov'nr. 

CONG'SS. 

ASSEMBLY. 

comm'r. 

eg 

c 

cS 

Si 

DISTRICTS. 

C 

>5 

Ji 

is 

Xli 

fl 

0 

c 

0) 

'a 

si 
5 

2 

u 

IS 

9 

1 

m 

>> 

1 

•0 

•V, 

8 

c 

3 

3 
0 

S 

^^ 

i^ 

< 

•-5 

167 

1-5 
184 

165 

152 

134 

< 

Union, 

192 

145 

192 

141 

141 

East  Buffalo, 

116 

222 

96 

229 

102 

98 

236 

228 

111 

219 

Wftst  Buffalo,      .... 

173 

115 

173 

114 

173 

167 

123 

116 

172 

113 

White  Deer, 

45]  200 

23    218 

43 

43 

202 

201 

37 

204 

Hartley, . 

103 

108 

99    111 

101 

87 

110 

113 

102 

109 

Beaver, 

171 

70 

71 

162 

159 

79 

79 

167 

68 

Centre, 

204 

35 

3 

232 

192 

186 

47 

46 

104 

35 

Perry, 

92 

39 

48 

48 

70 

67 

59 

68 

87 

45 

Freeburg, 

163 

49 

156 

55! 

157 

157 

51 

53 

160 

50 

Penn's, 

248     35 

182 

49 

238 

242 

44 

40 

246 

33 

Total, 

1507  1018 

972  1268 

1405 

1390 

1116 

1096 

1320 

1011 

February  6,  prices  in  Philadelphia :  Wheat,  $3  per  bushel ;  rye, 
$1.60;  corn,  $1.70.  February  13,  Methodist  church,  at  New  Ber- 
lin, dedicated.  A  great  assemblage  of  people.  Over  two  hundred 
sleds  and  sleighs.  March  13,  ice  broke  on  the  river,  and  obstructed 
the  stages.     9th  August,  Limestone  Run  bridge,  in  the  town  of  Mil- 


438  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1817. 

ton,  swept  out,  with  large  portions  of  the  road,  by  a  sudden  freshet 
in  that  stream. 

Lewisburg  Bridge. 

November  i,  superstructure  up,  and  teams  cross  the  Lewisburg 
bridge.  James  Lee,  the  old  tavern-keeper,  at  Northumberland,  in 
a  suit,  BuvTvs.  McCay,  6  Barr,  149,  about  the  "  Burr  bridge  patent," 
testified  to  the  following  facts,  in  regard  to  the  building  of  this  bridge 
and  others  on  the  Susquehanna : 

"In  May,  1816,  Theodore  Burr  was  at  my  house,  in  Northum- 
berland, and  I  asked  him  whether  he  proposed  attending  the  letting 
of  the  Lewisburg  bridge.  He  said  he  had  enough  bridges  on  hand, 
and  recommended  Reuben  Fields  as  a  first-rate  builder,  who  worked 
with  him  on  the  Harrisburg  bridge.  I  went  to  Harrisburg,  got  an 
introduction  to  Mr.  Fields,  who  came  to  Lewisburg  the  week  fol- 
lowing, to  look  at  the  points  for  material,  contiguous  to  the  site.  A 
few  days  before  the  letting,  he  brought  up  a  plan  and  draft  for  the 
bridge.  Theodore  Burr  advised  Fields  and  myself  to  build  on  that 
plan.  We  presented  the  plan  to  the  company  on  the  3d  of  July, 
1816,  together  with  our  proposals.  The  day  following,  Mr.  Hep- 
burn drew  the  contract  between  the  Lewisburg  Bridge  Company, 
Fields,  and  myself,  and  on  the  7th  we  commenced  excavating  the 
foundation  for  stone-work.  In  September  we  had  got  up  two  piers, 
and  the  two  abutments  half  way.  Mr.  Fields  came  up  that  fall,  and 
commenced  the  wood-work.  Early  the  next  spring  one  of  the 
reaches  was  up,  and  another  part  raised  on  the  east  side,"  &c. 

Theodore  Burr  commenced  building  the  Northumberland  bridge 
in  181 2.  Finished  it  in  two  years.  In  181 4  he  commenced  the  Har- 
risburg bridge,  and  finished  it  in  two  or  three  years. 

Marriages. 

February  20,  by  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire,  Peter  Long  to  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Moore.  June  19,  by  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries,  Samuel 
Roush,  Esquire,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Dunkle.  September  9,  by  Rev- 
erend Peter  Kessler,  Jacob  Alter  to  Miss  Ann  Kessler.  October  24, 
George  Mitchel  to  Eliza  Anderson.  May  22,  by  Reverend  John 
Patterson,  Andrew  McBeth  to  Ann  Linn. 


1817.1  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  43^ 


Deaths. 

February  6,  Enoch  Smith,  Esquire,  attorney-at-law,  Sunbury, 
Pennsylvania.  February  19,  Flavel  Roan,  Esquire,  born  July  31, 
1 760.  Son  of  the  Reverend  John  Roan,  and  brother  of  Mrs.  Clingan. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard,  at  Lewisburg,  near 
the  pavement,  a  little  east  of  the  present  church.  The  grave  being 
unmarked,  it  was  lost  sight  of  when  the  church  was  built.  March  17, 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Reverend  J.  G.  Heim,  born  April  17,  1776.  April 
17,  Elias  Youngman,  born  August  15,  1738.  Married,  January  11, 
1763,  to  Catherine  Nagle.  His  children  were:  George,  father  of 
Elias,  of  Jersey  Shore  ;  Thomas,  who  died,  (Thomas'  widow  married 
Robert  Forster,)  and  Catherine,  married  to  John  Dreisbach.  Elias 
Youngman  was  a  hatter,  in  Sunbury,  in  1775.  Moved  into  the  Val- 
ley in  1783.  April  27,  Jacob  Dunkle,  who  bought  the  Heberling 
mill  at  sheriff's  sale,  as  the  property  of  Captain  John  Bergstresser,  was 
killed  near  Bear  Gap,  as  he  was  coming  home  with  the  team  from 
Philadelphia.  His  horses  ran  off,  and  the  wagon  wheels  passed  over 
his  head,  killing  him  instantly.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Charles 
C,  of  Lewisburg.  He  left  a  family  of  seven  sons  and  five  daughters. 
He  was  married,  November  24,  1789,  to  Ann  C.  Shoemaker. 

July  I,  Henry  Spyker,  Esquire.  His  children  were:  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander Graham,  Jonathan  Spyker,  &c.  He  was  a  son  of  Peter  Spy- 
ker, who  was  president  of  the  courts  of  Berks  county  in  1780.  The 
Spykers,  Christs,  Kadermans,  &c.,  came  over  with  Conrad  Weiser  to 
New  York,  in  1710,  from  a  place  called  Herrenburg,  in  Wurtemberg, 
Germany.  In  1729,  they  all  removed  together  to  Tulpehocken, 
where  Henry  Spyker  was  born,  29th  August,  1753.  He  was  adju- 
tant, in  1776,  of  a  militia  regiment  on  duty  at  Amboy,  New  Jersey, 
where  he  heard  the  thunder  of  the  battle  on  the  25th,  26th,  and 
27th.  His  manuscript  journal  is  yet  in  the  possession  of  his  grand- 
daughter, Mary  Spyker,  at  Lewisburg,  together  with  many  valua- 
ble papers,  a  complete  file  of  almanacs  from  1756  down.  He  was 
paymaster  of  the  militia  from  October  i,  1777,  to  July  27,  1785, 
during  which  he  disbursed  ^122,847  7-^-  6^.,  and  accounted  satis- 
factorily for  every  cent.  He  was  afterwards  member  of  Assembly  for 
Berks,  1788-90.  In  1797,  when  Jonathan  was  twelve  years  old, 
just  the  age  of  Lewisburg,  he  removed  to  Lewisburg,  where  he  en- 


440  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1817. 

gaged  in  store-keeping  for  a  few  years ;  was  then  appointed  a  justice, 
which  office  he  exercised  until  within  a  few  days  of  his  death.  He 
used  to  tell  of  two  Germans  of  the  Valley,  who  came  to  his  office 
to  make  some  sale,  and  have  a  note  written,  and  when  through,  the 
party  who  was  to  have  the  note  told  the  other  to  keep  it,  and  he 
could  then  know  when  it  was  due,  and  come  and  pay  him. 

August  21,  Colonel  William  Chamberlin.  He  came  from  Hun- 
terdon county,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  born,  September  25,  1736. 
He  served  as  lieutenant  colonel  in  second  regiment.  Colonel  David 
Chambers,  his  commission  bearing  date  9th  September,  1777,  in 
November  of  which  year,  by  order  of  Governor  Livingston,  he 
was  directed  to  call  on  Messrs.  Penn  and  Chew,  at  the  Union  iron- 
works, to  conduct  them  to  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  deliver  them 
to  the  Council  of  that  State.  He  was  also  directed  to  purchase,  in 
Connecticut  or  Massachusetts  Bay,  twenty  thousand  flints  for  the 
Council  of  New  Jersey.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth, 28th  June,  1778,  where  his  eldest  son  Lewis  was  killed  by  a 
cannon  ball.  He  moved  into  our  Valley  in  1793,  and  on  the  i6th 
of  August,  1794,  married  his  fourth  wife,  Mary  Kemble.  He  was 
the  father  of  twenty-three  children,  fifteen  of  whom  were  born  in 
New  Jersey.  Of  his  children,  Nelly  married  John  Lawshe,  senior; 
Ann,  John  Ross ;  Lucretia,  Christian  Nevius ;  William,  Enoch, 
Tenbrooke ;  Sarah,  married  to  James  Wilson  ;  Uriah  \  Elizabeth, 
married  to  William  McCreery;  Aaron,  came  with  him.  His  fourth 
wife's  children  were :  John,  James,  I^wis,  Mary  Frances,  married 
to  John  Linn ;  Joseph  P. ,  James  D. ,  and  Moses,  the  latter  still  resid- 
ing at  Milton. 

James  Marshall,  of  White  Deer. 


l§l8. 


Delawares  and  Shawanese  Remove  West  of  the  Mississippi. 

ILLIAM  FINDLAY,  Governor. 

February  8,  prices  current  in  Philadelphia  :  flour, 
$io  per  barrel;  wheat,  ^i  80;  rye,  95  cents.  9th,  the 
first  toll  was  taken  on  the  Lewisburg  bridge.  On  the 
5  th  and  6th  of  May,  David  Yoder  had  the  town  of  New  Columbia 
surveyed  and  laid  out  in  streets  and  lots.  During  this  summer,  the 
Christian  chapel,  a  frame  building  on  Fourth  street,  between  St. 
John  and  St.  Anthony,  in  Lewisburg,  was  erected. 

I  note,  September  17,  the  treaty  by  which  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanese  cede  their  lands  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  agree  to  take 
locations  on  the  Arkansas  river.  The  Delawares  resided  principally 
on  Stony  creek,  a  branch  of  the  Maumee ;  the  Shawanese  on  the 
Auglaize  river,  where  it  empties  into  the  Maumee,  in  north-western 
Ohio. 

The  election  this  fall  did  not  manifest  any  material  change  in  the 
political  situation  of  the  State.  Ex-Governor  Simon  Snyder  was 
elected  Senator  from  Northumberland,  Union,  &c.,  without  any 
opposition. 

Marriages. 

Among  marriages  are :  February  24,  James  Dale  to  Eliza  Bell,  of 
Hanover,  Dauphm  county.  June  11,  John  Snyder,  Esquire,  to 
Miss  Mary  Kittera,  daughter  of  late  Honorable  John  Wilkes  Kit- 
tera,  deceased.  November  4,  Lieutenant  R.  H.  Hammond,  fifth 
U.  S.  infantry,  to  Miss  Eliza  C.  Gloninger,  of  Lebanon. 

441 


442  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1819. 


Deaihs. 

Among  deaths:  March  30,  Christopher  Weiser,  East  Buffalo,  aged 
sixty-one.     May  25,  Sarah  Barber,  wife  of  Robert,  aged  sixty-five. 


1819. 


Difficulty  in  Mr.  Fries"  Church — Bank  Suspensions. 

I  HIS  year  is  noted  in  our  religious  history  for  Mr.  Fries' 
difficulty  in  his  Mifflinburg  congregation.  It  assumed 
such  proportions  that  the  Synod  recommended  that  he 
should  withdraw  from  Mifflinburg  and  take  charge  of 
the  eight  congregations  at  Middle  creek.  He  came  home  from 
Synod,  called  a  meeting  of  the  elders  of  Penn's,  Brush  Valley,  New 
Berlin,  Dreisbach's  and  Mifflinburg,  before  whom  he  invited  his 
accusers  to  appear.  It  appears  they  had  circulated  a  story  that,  on 
Easter  Sunday,  he  had  conducted  himself  as  if  he  were  intoxicated. 
The  elders  pronounced  him  innocent.  Their  report  is  signed,  Adam 
Harper,  president ;  Adam  Neidig,  secretary ;  John  Brown,  Henry 
Herbst,  John  Zeigler,  John  Philip  Meyer,  Frederick  Gutelius,  John 
Ray,  Sebastian  Whitmer,  Elias  Youngman,  and  John  Dreisbach, 
elders. 

In  August,  the  Northumberland,  Union,  and  Columbia  Bank,  at 
Milton,  stopped  payment.  Its  notes  in  circulation  were  ^55,000, 
and  the  debts  due  to  the  institution  amounted  to  $190,000.  Manu- 
factures having  broken  down  in  the  country,  bank  notes  necessarily 
flowed  in  large  quantities  to  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  for  the  pur- 
chase of  goods  and  the  payment  of  debts.  City  banks  had  plenty 
of  their  own  paper,  and,  therefore,  would  not  take  them ;  or,  if  they 
did,  forwarded  them  forthwith  for  redemption.     The  result  followed, 


1819.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  443 

the  country  banks  had  to  suspend.     This  was  the  case  with  the  Read- 
ing Bank,  Northampton  Bank,  &c. 

Among  the  deaths  this  year  were  :  Henry  Iddings,  aged  ninety- 
two,  leaving  ten  children.  John  Boal,  of  White  Deer;  his  family 
were  Elizabeth,  married  to  Matthew  Laird ;  Mary,  to  John  Reznor  ; 
Sophia^  to  Samuel  Woods ;  Margaret ;  Nancy,  to  J.  Foster  Wilson, 
of  Hartleton. 

Domesik. 

The  use  of  the  tomato,  as  an  edible,  is  noted.  Prior  to  this,  the 
plant  was  cultivated  for  ornament. 

The  large  stone  house  in  Lewisburg,  now  occupied  by  Mark  Half- 
penny, was  built  by  William  Hayes. 

Governor  Simon  Snyder, 

Governor  Simon  Snyder  died  at  Selinsgrove,  November  9,  at 
three,  a.  m.,  aged  seventy  years  and  four  days.  His  remains  rest  in 
the  old  grave-yard,  at  Selinsgrove,  under  a  marble  slab,  without  any 
inscription.  His  father  was  a  mechanic,  who  had  emigrated  from 
Germany  to  Lancaster,  where  the  Governor  was  born.  In  July, 
1784,  he  removed  to  Northumberland  county,  and  settled  at  Selins- 
grove, where  he  opened  a  store,  and  became  the  owner  of  a  mill. 
He  soon  became  useful  as  a  scrivener,  and  as  a  friend  of  the  poor 
and  distressed.  He  was  soon  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which 
capacity  he  officiated  for  twelve  years.  (Justices  then  presided  in 
the  county  court.)  So  universally  were  his  decisions  respected,  that 
there  never  was  any  appeal  from  any  judgment  of  his  to  the  court, 
and  but  one  writ  of  certiorari  was  served  upon  him  during  that  time. 
His  political  record  is  spread  forth  on  the  foregoing  pages  of  these 
Annals.  Mention  will,  therefore,  be  made  here  of  only  a  few  inci- 
dents of  his  public  life.  With  him  originated  the  arbitration  prin- 
ciple, first  incorporated,  with  other  wholesome  provisions,  for  the 
adjustment  of  controversies  brought  before  justices  of  the  peace, 
called  the  hundred-dollar  act.  After  a  few  years'  experience,  this 
salutary  principle  was  ingrafted  upon  our  judiciary  system.  Gen- 
eral Abner  Lacock  was  his  coadjutor  in  these  measures.     His  con- 


444  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1819. 

duct  during  the  war  of  1812  was  patriotic,  and  worthy  of  a  Gov- 
ernor of  Pennsylvania.  His  son  John,  afterwards  the  Honorable 
John  Snyder,  of  the  thirteenth  district,  then  a  boy  of  nineteen,  raised 
a  company,  and  marched  with  them  as  captain  to  Baltimore.  They 
arrived  at  Harrisburg  before  daylight,  and  were  halted  before  the 
Governor's  door.  He  arose  from  his  bed,  and  welcomed  them,  and 
with  stirring  words  complimented  their  bravery.  He  always  said, 
in  speaking  of  the  circumstance,  he  never  before  had  felt  so  proud 
of  his  son  John. 

During  the  session  of  1813-14,  a  very  large  majority  of  both 
Houses  passed  the  bill  to  charter  forty  banks.  The  candidate  for 
Governor  was  at  that  time  nominated  by  the  members  of  the  Leg- 
islature. When  they  came  into  caucus,  it  was  remarked  that  the 
bank  bill  was  then  before  the  Governor,  and  that  it  would  be 
prudent  to  make  no  nomination  till  it  was  seen  whether  he  would 
sanction  it.  Within  three  days,  Governor  Snyder  returned  the  bill, 
with  his  objections,  and  it  did  not  pass  that  session.  His  independ- 
ence was  the  theme  of  universal  praise,  and  he  was  that  year  re- 
elected by  an  immense  majority.  Having  served  out  the  consti- 
tutional term,  he  returned  to  Selinsgrove,  and  at  the  next  general 
election  was  made  State  Senator,  and  served  one  session. 

The  crowning  glory  of  Governor  Snyder's  career  was  his  Chris- 
tianity. In  religious  culture  he  was  a  Moravian,  and  in  public  station 
he  never  forgot  his  vows  or  neglected  his  religious  duties.  His  heart 
went  out  at  all  times  in  deeds  of  kindness  to  the  poor  and  unfortu- 
nate. He  was  long  mourned  with  sincere  grief  by  them,  and  the 
few  old  people  still  surviving,  tell  how  tenderly  it  was  manifested 
when  he  was  buried  out  of  their  sight. 

His  letters  to  his  children  are  very  affectionate,  and  full  of  good 
advice.  I  quota  from  one  to  his  daughter,  Amelia,  afterwards  Mrs. 
Jenks,  dated  the  30th  of  January,  1813  : 

"  I  hope  the  practice  I  recommended,  of  reading  by  the  boys  in 
the  evening,  has  been  adopted,  and  the  reading  of  a  chapter  in  the 
New  Testament  or  one  of  Blair's  sermons  on  a  Sunday,  when  there 
is  no  worship  in  our  church.  When  there  is,  and  the  weather  is 
tolerable,  I  trust  you  and  all  the  boys  attend.  Your  ensample  may 
influence  them.  I  would  advise  you  to  set  apart,  say  two  hours 
each  day,  for  reading,  and  endeavor  to  store  in  your  mind  all  that 


1819.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  445 

is  worth  recollecting.  Write  to  me  when  you  have  an  opportunity, 
or  rather  write  when  anything  occurs  to  your  mind  worth  com- 
municating, and  then  you  will  be  ready,  and  not  hurried,  when  an 
opportunity  offers.  This  is  my  method,  or  I  never  could  get  through 
half  my  business." 

His  parental  tenderness  and  his  earnest  desire  for  the  conversion 
of  his  children  is  the  burden  of  many  of  his  letters.  From  one, 
dated  Harrisburg,  19th  January,  1813,  I  make  the  following  ex- 
tracts : 

"  Dear  Child  :  I  have  but  a  few  moments  time,  before  the  mail 
starts,  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  17th.  I 
feel  much  distressed  by  your  relation  of  John's  state  of  health.  I 
hope  that  no  pains  or  expense  will  be  spared  to  restore  him.  God 
grant  that  he  may  recover,  and  become  sensible  of  the  necessity  to 
alter  his  mind,  and  prove  thankful  and  grateful  to  God  for  his 
rnercies.  His  God,  from  whose  hand  the  thread  of  his  life  is  sus- 
pended, will  hear  him,  if,  with  a  contrite  heart  he  calls  for  mercy 
and  forgiveness.  I  write  under  strong  emotions  of  pain.  God  have 
him  and  you  all  in  His  holy  keeping,  is  the  prayer  of  your  father, 

S.  S." 

The  Governor's  long  residence  at  the  seat  of  government,  during 
which  he  had  not  the  leisure  necessary  for  managing  his  extensive 
estates,  and  his  liberality  to  his  relatives  and  friends,  had  greatly 
embarrassed  his  affairs.  The  death  of  his  son  Frederick  taking  place 
at  this  time,  broke  his  spirit.  The  powers  of  the  other  world  soon 
claimed  him  for  its  silent  fellowship.  He  is  now  united  with  the 
apostles  and  martyrs,  the  great  and  good  of  all  ages,  with  those  he 
so  tenderly  loved  in  life,  and  more  than  all,  with  his  Saviour. 

Governor  Snyder's  first  wife  was  Elizabeth  Michael,  of  Lancaster, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children:  Amelia,  born  21st  June,  1791.  She 
was  married  March  28,  1820,  by  Doctor  Dewitt  to  Doctor  Phineas 
Jenks,  member  of  the  House  from  Bucks  county,  at  Harrisburg. 
Mrs.  Elsegood,  wife  of  Reverend  J.  I.  Elsegood,  of  East  New  York, 
is  the  only  daughter  of  Amelia.  The  Honorable  John  Snyder,  who 
married  June  11,  1818,  Mary  Louisa  Kittera,  daughter  of  Honor- 
able John  Wilkes  Kittera,  of  Lancaster,  Congressman  during  the 
administration  of  General  Washington,  and  until  the  election'  of 


44(>  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1819. 


Thomas  Jefferson,  in  1801,  when  he  died.  John  Snyder's  children 
by  his  first  wife  are  Miss  Mary  K.  Snyder,  postmistress  at  Selins- 
grove,  Mrs.  Vandyke,  who  now  hves  in  Lewisburg,  widow  of  James 
C.  Vandyke,  Esquire,  late  United  States  district  attorney  for  the  east- 
ern district  of  Pennsylvania.  Among  his  children  by  subsequent  mar- 
riage, is  Mrs.  G.  W.  Walls,  of  Lewisburg.  Honorable  John  Snyder 
died  at  Selinsgrove,  August  15,  1850.  The  children  by  his  second 
marriage  were  Henry  W.  Snyder,  born  20th  July,  1797.  He  was  a 
paymaster  in  the  late  war,  and  died  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 
Of  his  children,  are  Mrs.  Joseph  Musser,  of  Lewisburg,  who  has  a 
portrait  of  her  grandmother,  which  is  certainly  complimentary  to  the 
Governor's  appreciation  of  beauty.  George  A.  Snyder,  a  man  o*f 
unmistakable  genius,  was  the  second  son.  His  artist  aspirations 
were  early  developed,  and  he  desired  his  father  to  send  him  to  Italy ; 
but  he  insisted  upon  making  a  lawyer  of  him.  He  never  practiced, 
I  believe.  Taught  school  for  the  most  part,  and  died  in  Williams- 
port  on  the  6th  of  July,  1865.  During  the  war,  being  old  and  feeble, 
he  still  insisted  upon  doing  something,  and  gathered  all  the  news- 
papers that  came  in  his  way,  cut  out  the  interesting  articles,  and 
pasting  them  into  small  scrap-books,  sent  them  to  the  hospitals  to 
help  the  sick  soldiers  while  away  the  tedious  hours  of  sickness.  His 
children  are  Mrs.  Mathias  App,  now  of  Michigan  ;  Mrs.  Kate  Crane ; 
Henry  and  George  S.,  foundrymen  of  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania; 
Mrs.  Riley,  Antes  and  Jesse  D.,  of  the  same  place. 

Antes  Snyder,^  who  died  at  Pottstown  in  December,  1861,  where 
his  widow,  Mrs.  Mary  B.,  still  resides,  (1871,)  was  the  child  Mrs. 
Carson  wished  to  kidnap,  in  order  to  obtain  from  the  Governor 
the  pardon  of  Smith.  He  well  remembered  how  carefully  he  was 
guarded  in  door  until  after  the  execution  of  Smith.  Antes  was 
educated  at  West  Point,  graduated  with  high  honors,  and  was  soon 
afterwards  sent  by  the  Government  to  England  on  business  con- 
nected with  the  railway  system,  then  in  its  infancy  here. 

The  Governor  said,  should  Mrs.  Carson  succeed  in  the  abduction 
of  his  child,  the  law  should,  nevertheless,  have  its  course.  He  was 
spared  the  trial,  but  all  who  knew  his  stern  integrity,  felt  assured 

'  Antes  Sny<ler  was  the  engineer  T7ho  designed  and  built  the  large  stone  bridges 
over  the  Schuylkill,  at  the  falls  and  Peacock's  lock,  above  Reading,  and  one  at 
Schuylkill  Haven,  and  a  number  of  small  ones  along  the  line  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  lieading  railroad. 


1819]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  447 

that  the  law  would  have  been  honored,  even  had  he  been  put  to  so 
severe  a  test. 

Governor  Snyder  was  married  the  third  time  to  Mary  Slough 
Scott,  a  widow  lady  of  Harrisburg,  i6th  October,  181 4.  She  sur- 
vived him,  and  died  at  Harrisburg  October  8,  1823.  She  was  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  was  the  first  person  who  com- 
menced a  Sabbath-school  in  Selinsgrove.  She  is  spoken  of  as  a  bril- 
liant woman  in  society. 

I  quote  from  her  letter  to  Amelia,  dated  Philadelphia,  June  1 1 , 
1 81 8,  anticipating  Honorable  John  Snyder's  wedding.  The  gar- 
lands have  faded  this  many  a  day ;  their  perfume  may  still  linger 
in  some  households : 

"My  Dear  Amelia:  At  length  I  have  a  moment  to  devote  to 
you,  on  the  morning  of  the  important  day  which  is  to  connect  us 
with  Mary.  At  nine  o'clock  this  evening  Doctor  Wilson  will  tie  the 
knot.  Mr.  Peacock  has  stayed  for  the  wedding.  The  fair  brides- 
maids are  Mary  Smith,  Miss  Houston,  Hannah  L.  Orme.  The 
groomsmen,  Shunk,  T.  Conrad,  Thomas  and  John  Kittera.  All  the 
relatives  will  be  here.  The  company  will  consist  of  about  thirty  per- 
sons. To-morrow,  early,  we  set  out,  and  will  rest  at  Lancaster  on 
Sunday,  go  to  Harrisburg  on  Monday,  and  leave  that  on  Thursday 
or  Friday  for  Selinsgrove.  I  am  very  anxious  about  your  father. 
Henry  writes  Mr.  Peacock  that  he  was  unwell  after  I  left  him.  I 
hope  in  God  he  is  now  well.  Mr.  Hemphill  gave  a  dinner  for  me 
Tuesday.  I  had  twelve  of  my  particular  friends  to  meet  me  last 
evening.  I  took  tea  with  Mrs.  Watson.  She  sends  much  love.  It 
is  so  warm,  I  am  obliged  to  ride  everywhere,  and  Anthony  is  very 
accommodating.  I  long  to  get  home  again,  and  shall  enjoy  our  old 
house  more  than  ever,  for  this  place  is  intolerably  hot,  Shunk 
[afterwards  Governor  Shunk]  goes  by  his  father's  house,  so  we  shall 
have  no  beaux.  John  Kittera  cannot  go  home  with  us,  but  will  be 
up  in  a  few  weeks.  Mrs.  Hall  is  still  here,  but  goes  home  with  Mrs. 
Humphrey  and  her  daughter  next  week.  Their  new  carriage  is  not 
yet  done,  and  she  is  almost  homesick.  Shunk  has  just  come  in,  and 
desires  me  to  tell  you  he  has  tried  to  behave  pretty,  and  is  as  polite 
as  possible." 


i8^o. 


HILIP  MILLER  was  appointed  court  crier.  He  held 
this  office  thirty-three  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Ben- 
jamin Shell,  in  1853. 

1 6th  March,  the  division  line  of  Mififiin  and  Union 
directed  by  act  of  Assembly,  to  be  run  by  a  surveyor  appointed  by 
the  commissioners  of  each  county ;  otherwise  the  line  run  by  Peter 
Hackenberg  made  the  line. — P.  L.  1^20,  page  82. 

28th  March,  James  Dale,  of  Union,  Jacob  Cryder,  of  Centre,  and 
John  Hanna,  of  Lycoming,  appointed  to  run  the  division  line  be- 
tween Union  and  Centre  counties. 

In  1 819  or  1820,  Doctor  Grier  says,  the  Associate  Reformed 
church,  of  Mifflinburg,  was  organized  of  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  mem- 
bers, a  dissatisfaction  having  arisen  on  account  of  giving  up  Rouse's 
version,  and  adopting  Watt's  version,  of  the  Psalms.  James  McClel- 
lan.  Esquire,  and  Samuel  Templeton  were  of  the  elders.  James 
McClellan  gave  up  his  pew  in  Buffalo  in  April,  1820.  So  it  was  pro- 
bably in  this  year.  This  church  was  served  by  the  late  Doctors 
George  Junkin  and  David  Kirkpatrick.  In  October,  1827,  on  ap- 
plication of  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  and  his  congregation,  they  were  received 
into  and  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Northumberland  Presbytery. 
(Tills  congregation  is  still  served  by  Doctor  Grier,  although  there  is 
another  Presbyterian  church  organized  at  Mifflinburg.) 


Political. 

At  the  October  election  for  Governor,  General  Joseph  Hiester 
received  1,621  votes,  and  William  Findlay,  1,040  in  Union  county. 


1820.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


449 


For  Congress,  Thomas  Murray  ran  against  William  Cox  Ellis. 
4,341  tickets  had  the  name  of  Thomas  Murray  on;  3,074  had 
Thomas  Murray,  junior.  Mr.  Ellis'  vote  in  the  district  was  6,526, 
and  he  received  the  certificate,  but  not  considering  it  fair,  Mr.  Ellis 
resigned  in  June,  1821,  and  another  election  was  held  that  fall.  At 
the  November  election  James  Monroe  carried  every  State,  John 
Quincy  Adams  receiving  only  one  electoral  vote,  (in  New  Hamp- 
shire.) 


Census  1820. 


Penn's,  . 
Centre,  . 
Beaver,  . 
Perry,     . 
Washington, 
Mififlinburg, 
West  Buffalo, 
Hartleton,  . 

Value  of  leather 


2,099 
2,094 
2,036 

1,427 
620 
1,183 
75 
manufactures. 


Hartley, 
New  Berlin, 
Union,  . 
White  Deer, 
Lewisburg, 
Buffalo,  .     . 


Total, 


1^239 

515 

1,369 

1,677 

579 
2,376' 

18,619 


19,200;  linseed  oil,  Szjjgo-^ 
pottery,  ^1,050;  whisky;  corn  and  rye,  used  for,  16,000  bushels, 
value,  twenty-five  to  thirty-one  cents  per  gallon.  Twenty-two'  still- 
houses.  Wheat  manufacttired  into  flour,  23,300  bushels.  Fourteen 
mills  in  operation.  For  cotton  yarn,  one  hundred  and  twenty  spin- 
dles, one  carding  machine,  one  spinning  machine.  "  The  whole 
establishment  gone  to  ruin  for  want  of  a  market.  It  formerly  em- 
ployed four  men  and  three  boys." 


Noiices  of  Revolutionary  Soldiers  Residing  in  the  County  in  1820. 

Brown,  Jonathan,  had  served  three  years  as  a  private  in  Captain 
Elijah  Humphrey's  company.  Colonel  William  Douglas'  regiment, 
and  was  sixty-two  years  old. 

Britton,  Joseph,  enlisted  at  John  Stetler's  tavern,  in  Limerick 
township,  Montgomery  county,  in  the  spring  of  1776,  in  Captain 
Caleb  North's  company,  of  Colonel  Anthony  Wayne's  regiment. 
Captain  Frederick  Evans  testified  in  his  behalf,  that  he  had  livetl 
forty-three  years  before  with  David  Evans,  whose  land  joinetl  his 
29 


4S0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLHY.  [1820. 


father's,  in  Montgomery  county ;  that  he  recollected  of  hearing 
Britton  had  enlisted,  and  about  a  year  afterwards  he  came  back  very 
much  emaciated ;  that  forty-four  years  had  elapsed  since  he  had 
seen  Britton,  and  he  was  so  much  altered  he  had  no  recollection  of 
his  person  ;  but  from  conversation  with  him,  he  had  no  doubt  he 
was  the  same  Joseph  that  had  enlisted  with  Captain  Caleb  North's 
company,  and  marched  to  Ticonderoga.  Britton  was,  in  1820. 
seventy-one  years  old,  a  farmer,  and  had  a  wife  and  two  daughters. 

Billman,  Dewalt,  aged  sixty-seven,  enlisted  at  Reading,  in  Captain 
Jacob  Bowers'  company. 

Burd,  Daniel,  seventy-five  years  old,  enlisted  at  Amboy,  Colonel 
James  Treddle's  regiment ;  served  five  years  nine  months,  except 
three  months,  when  he  was  at  home  sick.  He  was  wounded  in  the 
left  thigh  at  Battle  Hill,  with  two  musket  balls.  He  had  two  sons 
and  four  daughters,  youngest  named  Anne. 

Bower,  George,  of  White  Deer.  Pressed  in  the /all  of  1777  as 
teamster;  had  charge  of  an  ammunition  wagon  at  Valley  Forge. 
Drafted  in  June,  1778;  arrived  on  the  field  of  Monmouth  as  the 
battle  was  closing.  He  received  a  sword  cut  on  the  knee  from  a 
British  soldier  who  lay  in  ambush  by  the  road.  Recollected  of  see- 
ing Lafayette  at  Monmouth. 

Campbell,  McDonald,  served  in  Captain  John  Conway's  com- 
pany. Colonel  William  Wind's  New  Jersey  regiment,  thirteen 
months.  Re-enlisted  in  Colonel  John  Conway's  regiment  and 
served  nine  months,  and  then  was  detailed  by  General  Green  as  his 
express  rider,  and  remained  such  during  the  war.  Was  a  fifer  in 
Captains  Conway's  and  Furman's  companies.  He  married  a  widow 
Valentine,  who  had  two  children,  Jesse,  aged  thirteen,  Jane,  aged 
ten.  His  children  by  her  were,  Isaac  Wilson  Campbell,  Sally  Walls, 
Almeda,  Eleanor,  and  Elizabeth  ;   latter  aged  eight  months. 

Carney,  Anthony,  blacksmith,  Hartley,  enlisted  in  Orange  county. 
North  Carolina,  served  three  years.  He  was  sixty-seven  in  1820, 
and  had  no  family  except  his  wife,  Catherine. 

Clemmens,  Peter,  private  in  Captain  Stake's  company,  Colonel 
Butler's  regiment,  and  served  two  years.  He  left  a  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth.    His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  in  1820. 

Campbell,  John,  (still  living  in  West  Buffah;.  1838,  and  then 
eighty-three   years   old,)   was   drafted  into  the  militia  from   Derry 


1820.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  451 


township^  Lancaster  county,  in  1776,  served  under  Captain  Robert 
McKee,  arrived  at  Trenton  the  day  after  the  capture  of  the  Hessians, 
and  went  thence  to  Morristovvn.  Took  oath  of  allegiance  before  Jacob 
Cooke,  Esquire,  2d  August,  1777.  In  the  latter  part  of  1777,  he  was 
again  drafted,  and  went  to  Trenton.  Saw  British  horses  and  wagons 
Ijrouglit  into  camp  and  sold  at  auction.  His  third  tour  was  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  in  a  company  commanded  by  Lieutenant  James 
Laird.  They  lay  at  Chestnut  Hill  awhile.  General  Potter  and 
Major  Stewart  had  a  quarrel  there  about  the  treatment  of  the  militia, 
and  were  on  the  point  of  fighting  it  out  with  their  swords.  Camp- 
bell moved  to  Buffalo  Valley  in  1777,  lived  on  Captain  Gray's  farm 
one  year,  then  moved  to  another  farm  of  the  captain's  near  James 
Dale's.  He  lived  there  seven  years,  then  moved  near  Buffalo  mount- 
ain, then  into  West  Buffalo,  where  he  died. 

Cook,  John,  private  in  Captain  Herbert's  company,  from  Wom- 
elsdorf,  who  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  surrender  of  Fort  Washington, 
exchanged,  and  appointed  ensign  in  the  twelfth,  Colonel  Cooke's. 
He  was  unmarried  and  childless  in  1820,  seventy-eight  years  old. 

Coryell,  George,  was  a  native  of  Hunterdon  county.  New  Jersey, 
was  born  at  Coryell's  ferry,  on  the  Delaware  river,  now  Lambertville, 
on  the  28th  of  April,  1 761.  He  entered  the  army  in  Captain  Craig's 
company  of  dragoons,  in  1776,  just  after  the  taking  of  the  Hessians, 
and  before  the  cannonade  at  Trenton,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1777. 
His  company  marched  up  the  creek,  and  was  in  the  battle  at  Prince- 
ton. He  was  a  year  with  Captain  Craig.  He  was  afterwards  drafted 
into  a  company  of  dragoons,  under  Lieutenant  Reading,  in  which  he 
served  one  year.  He  was  afterwards  drafted  into  the  company  of 
Captain  Palmer,  in  which  he  continued  until  the  fall  of  1 780,  He 
was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  enlisted,  and  while  in  Captain 
Craig's  company,  he  was  sent,  as  an  express,  to  Boston,  leaving  or- 
ders at  Danbury  and  other  places  on  the  route.  He  said  there  were 
gray-headed  men  and  minors  in  Craig's  company.  At  one  time 
General  Washington  had  his  headquarters  at  his  father's  house,  at 
the  ferry,  while  the  army  encamped  partly  in  his  orchard.  The 
British  and  Hessians  got  possession  of  his  father's  premises  at  one 
time,  and  cut  the  bedding,  threw  the  feathers  into  the  street,  and 
burned  all  the  fences  on  the  farm,  which  lay  in  common  a  longtime, 
George  Coryell  was  married,  in   1790,  to  a  sister  of  Richard  Van 


4S2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1820. 


Buskirk,  of  Mififlinburg,  and  moved,  in  1793,  to  the  premises  of 
Samuel  Maclay,  in  Buffalo  township.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
and  built  many  houses  in  Buffalo  Valley,  among  others,  the  old 
"Black  Horse  tavern,"  at  Lewisburg  ;  of  barns,  he  built  the  one 
on  Maclay's  place,  novv  owned  by  Joseph  Crreen.  In  1799  he  was 
captain  of  the  Buffalo  Valley  Republican  troop,  and  always  rode  on 
parade  days  a  sorrel  horse  that  had  been  wounded  at  St.  Clair's  de- 
feat. John  Webb,  a  hatter,  father  of  Colonel  Webb,  who,  some 
years  ago,  kept  hotel  in  Philadelphia,  was  first  lieutenant  of  the  com- 
pany. Webb  lived  in  Mifflinburg,  and  moved  to  Ohio  many  years 
ago.  Coryell  was  adjutant  of  Colonel  George  Weirick's  regiment,  at 
Marcus  Hook,  in  1814.  He  removed  to  Lycoming  county  once; 
then  back  to  Buffalo  valley  ;  then  to  White  Deer  valley  ;  thence  to 
Butler  county,  near  Hamilton,  where  he  died,  1837-3S.  His  wife 
soon  followed  him  to  the  grave.  He  had  four  sons,  Tunison,  John, 
Joseph  R.,  and  Abraham,  of  whom  Tunison,  the  eldest,  and  Abra- 
ham, the  youngest,  alone  survive.  There  were  several  daughters, 
most  of  whom  ended  their  days  in  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Tunison  re- 
sides in  Williamsport,  and  occupies  the  house  in  which  he  was  mar- 
ried, in  1 81 5,  and  where  his  golden  wedding  was  celebrated. 

Derr,  Christian,  West  Buffalo,  aged,  in  1820,  seventy-two.  En- 
listed at  Reading,  in  Captain  Nagle's  company,  Colonel  Thompson's 
regiment,  and  served  one  year;  re-enlisted  in  November,  1776,  in 
Captain  Moore's  company.  Colonel  Humpton's  regiment,  and  served 
in  the  battle  of  King's  Bridge,  nth  January,  1777,  Brandywine,  and 
Germantown.  In  the  last  action  he  vvas  wounded,  had  several  ribs 
broken,  and  was,  therefore,  discharged.  He  was  a  carpenter,  and  had 
eleven  children.  He  had  three  balls  in  his  body,  which  he  carried 
to  his  grave.  His  children  were  Ellis  Derr,  Mifflinburg  ;  Samuel, 
Uniontown  ;  Henry,  Schellsburg,  Bedford  county ;  Susan,  married  to 

Je.sse  Egbert,  afterwards  David  Kline,  of  Hartley;   Polly,  to  

Jones,  of  Sugar  valley ;  Elizabeth,  to  William  Kepner,  moved  to 
Venango  ;  John,  Oley  township,  Berks  ;  Catherine,  to  Henry  Bar- 
rich  ;  Christian,  junior,  who  died  in  Spring  township.  Centre  county, 
in  18^2.  His  children  live  in  and  about  Bellefonte  :  Daniel,  Rachel, 
married  to  William  Young;  William,  in  Benezet ;  Christian  and 
Solomon,  in  Bellefonte. 

Ewig,  Christian,  aged  sixty,  enlisted  at  Sunbury,  in  Captain  Weit- 


1820.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  433 


zel's  company,  Colonel  Miles'  regiment,  in  April,  1776,  served  one 
year,  nine  months,  then  re-enlisted  at  Sunbury,  in  Captain  James 
Wilson's  First  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  James  Chambers,  in  which  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.     A  wheelwright  by  trade. 

Kerstetter,  George,  blacksmith,  Washington  township,  aged  sixty- 
four.  Served  four  years  in  Captain  Burkhart's  company.  Colonel 
Hunsecker's  regiment.  Children :  Jacob  and  Dorothy.  Wife's 
name  was  Elizabeth. 

Linn,  John,  aged  sixty-five,  enlisted  in  the  winter  of  1 778,  at  Lan- 
caster, in  third  troop.  Captain  Erasmus  Gill,  fourth  regiment  Penn- 
sylvania cavalry.  Colonel  Stephen  Moylan.  Discharged  in  Octo- 
ber, 1783.  Had  five  children  ;  Robert  Bruce,  born  May  21,  1806  : 
Altha,  January  15,  1808;  James  Smith,  October  20,  181 1  ;  Eliza, 
June  4,  1814;  Mary  Jane,  November  23,  i8i6.     Weaver  by  trade. 

Lennox,  George,  private.  Captain  Bankson's  company,  Colonel 
Stewart's  regiment. 

Reger,  Elias,  enlisted  in  May,  1775,  Captain  George  Nagle's 
company,  Colonel  Thompson,  first  rifle  regiment.  '  In  the  siege  of 
Boston.  Discharged  at  Long  Island,  in  June,  1776.  Cooper  by 
trade.     Seventy-seven  years  old. 

Rorabaugh,  Philip,  Buffalo  township,  served  three  months  in  Penn- 
sylvania line.  Captain  Slaymaker's  company,  Colonel  Bull's  regi- 
ment, while  the  army  lay  at  Valley  Forge.  Served  also  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1794,  known  as  the  whisky  insurrection,  and  three  months 
in  Captain  John  Bergstrcsser's  company,  at  Marcus  Hook,  in  i8t4. 
This  hero  of  three  wars  died  February  3,  1837,  aged  eighty-six,  and 
is  buried  in  Lewisburg  German  grave-yard. 

Swesey,  Daniel,  died  in  White  Deer,  31st  January,  1836,  leaving 
a  widow,  Mary. 

Strickland,  Timothy,  carpenter,  Lewisburg,  enlisted  in  1776,  in 
Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  Captain  Bacon's  company.  Colo- 
nel Porter's  regiment,  and  served  therein  one  year.  Re-enlisted  in 
September,  1777,  in  Captain  Mill's  company.  New  York  State  line, 
and  was  honorably  discharged  after  three  years'  service.  Aged  in 
May,  1824,  seventy-three,  but  very  much  crippled.  He  had  four 
sons,  (Samuel  was  a  soldier  of  181 4.)  His  grandchildren  reside 
still  in  Lewisburg  ;   Cyrus,  a  grandson,  in  Bellefonte. 

Smith,  Adam,  was  a  teamster  during  the  Revolution.     He  settled 


yj./  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1820. 

Upon  the  place  now  owned  by  Jacob  Kunkle,  above  Henry  Mertz's. 
He  died  there  and  was  buried  at  the  Dreisbach  grave-yard.  His 
sons  were  :  Adam,  George,  Michael,  and  John,  and  a  daughter, 
married  to  Michael  Maize,  another  to  Steffy  Touchman.  Adam, 
junior,  moved  to  Beaver  township,  Snyder  county.  His  descend- 
ants are  about  Beaver  town  yet.  George  died  in  Union  county, 
John  at  Beaver  town,  and  Michael  in  Union  county,  in  1841.  He 
had  a  blacksmith  shop  above  Henry  Mertz's,  and  that  is  the  point  so 
often  spoken  of  in  old  road  views.  Michael's  children  were  Michael, 
who  moved  to  Michigan  ;  Daniel,  who  moved  to  Ohio;  Benjamin,  to 
Illinois;  David,  now,  1869,  living  near  the  old  place.  His  daughters 
married,  one  to  Jonas  Nyhart,  one  to  John  Wolfe,  one  to  David 
Oldt,  near  New  Berlin.  Michael  had  three  wives :  first  was  a  Bower, 
of  Dry  valley ;  second,  Susanna  Bartges,  of  Mifflinbucg ;  third, 
Sophia  Bickle,  whose  father,  Henry  Bickle,  was  killed  by  the  Indians. 
Michael  had  also  a  son  Jonathan,  flxther  of  A.  W.  Smith,  Esquire, 
late  jury  commissioner,  who  died  in  Hartley  township,  in  1870. 

Yiesely,  Micha'el,  aged  sixty-seven,  enlisted  in  August,  1776,  in 
Captain  B.  Weiser's  company,  in  Colonel  Haussegger's  regiment. 
Served  during  the  war,  and  was  discharged  in  1783.  He  had  a  wife 
and  five  children,  Henry,  Catherine,  George,  Elizabeth,  and  Maria. 

Deaths. 

June  17,  Paschal  Lewis,  aged  sixty.  His  family:  Elizabeth, 
widow,  who  died  August  26,  1828,  aged  seventy-one.  Margaret, 
married  to  Thomas  Clingan  ;  Mary,  married  to  Samuel  Wright, 
Tshe  is  still  living  in  Stephenson  county,  Illinois;)  Sarah,  married 
to  James  Merrill,  Esquire;  Elizabeth  L.,  wife  of  Robert  Candor, 
Esquire;   Amelia  B.,  married  to  Samuel  Heise,  of  Columbia. 


l831. 


■^ 


Governor  Hikster's  Appointments — General  Items. 

PPOINTMENTS  —  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Andrew  Gregg.  Auditor  General,  James  Duncan,  of 
Carlisle.  Samuel  Cochran,  Chester  county,  Surveyor 
GeneraL  (He  held  office  nine  years,  under  Governor 
Snyder.)  James  Brady,  of  Westmoreland,  Secretary  of  the  Land 
Office. 

Prices  current  at  Philadelphia,  in  April :  wheat,  seventy  cents, 
rye  thirty-seven,  corn  thirty-two,  butter  ten  cents  per  pound,  bacon 
seven  per  pound,  whiskey  twenty  cents  per  gallon.  In  July  wheat 
advanced  to  eighty  cents ;  in  October  to  ninety,  and  in  November 
to  $1  50.  The  other  grains  proportionably.  February  19,  '^a  comet 
made  its  appearance  in  the  vi^estern  horizon.  It  was  seen  last  even- 
ing between  seven  and  eight  o'clock,  considerably  elevated,  and 
could  be  found  by  drawing  a  line  due  north  from  the  planet  Saturn. 
It  was  but  a  few  degrees  from  it."  On  June  8th  the  locusts  made 
their  appearance  in  great  numbers  in  Buffalo  Valley. 

The  Union  county  Democratic  nominations  were  Ner  Middles- 
warth  and  James  Dale,  for  Assembly;  commissioner,  Joseph  Fuehrer  ; 
auditor,  John  Maclay ;  all  opposed  to  Hiester.  The  Federal  party 
had  really  gone  under,  and  politics  was  now  confined  to  tactions  in 
the  Democratic  ranks.  Binns  and  Buchanan  appear' among  the  Hies-- 
ter  men,  who  are  called  bank  men,  and  aristocrats,  and  "Feds." 
The  Findlay  papers  style  themselves  indifferently  Democrats,  Demo- 
cratic-Republicans, and  Republicans. 

455 


45b  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  1 1822. 

In  Union  county,  Thomas  Murray,  (Findlay,)  for  Congress,  had 
ten  hundred  and  forty-five  ;  Wilham  Cox  Ellis,  opposition,  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-six ;  and  Murray  was  elected  in  the  district  by  a 
small  majority.  The  fall  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  Legis- 
lature in  opposition  to  Governor  Hiester,  which  elected  William 
Findlay  United  States  Senator. 

Deaihs. 

Among  deaths  this  year  were,  June  27,  Captain  William  F.  Buyers, 
former  editor  of  the  Times,  Sunbury,  aged  forty  ;  and  December  7, 
John  Baker,  of  Buffalo,  aged  sixty-five. 


^ 


^ 


Tkhtain    Laws — Newspapers    Noticed — Death    of    William    Clingan. 
Esquire,  IIoxorable  Andrew  Albright,  and  Henry  Pontius. 

HE  act  of  February  18,  Pamphlet  Laws,  29,  required  all 
the  original  lists  of  assessments  for  land  situate  in  Union 
county,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  commissioners  of  Union 
county,  and  were  made  evidence  in  suits. 
March  2 1 ,  Lewisburg  incorporated  as  a  borough. — {^Pamphlet  La7vs. 
68.)     The  election  place  was  fixed  at  Randall  Wilcox's,  who  kept 
the  Black  Horse,  and  John  Nesbit  and  Alexander  Graham  were  ap- 
pointed to  superintend  the  first  election. 

March  25,  Northumberland  and  Union  placed  in  the  ninth  sena- 
torial district,  and  entitled  to  two  members. 

April  2,  Union,  Northumberland,  Columbia,  Luzerne,  Susque- 
hanna, Bradford,  Lycoming,  Tioga,  Potter,  and  McKean  placed  in 
one  congressional  district,  and  entitled  to  three  members,  and  on 


1822.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  457 

the  same  day  the  borough  of  Lewisburg  was  erected  into  a  separate 
election  district. 

In  January,  the  prices  current  in  Philadelphia  for  wheat  was  $1.12  ; 
rye,  60  cents;  corn,  62  :  oats,  30.  In  April  wheat  rose  to  $1.20, 
and  in  May  it  stood  at  $1.48. 

Nathaniel  Henrie  bought  out  the  New  Berlin  Gazette,  of  Frederick 
Wise,  and  started  the  Union  Times.  May  31,  Simon  Cameron 
became  the  junior  editor  of  the  Intelligencer  at  Harrisburg.  Hugh 
Maxwell  was  editing  the  opposition  paper  at  Lancaster. 

In  December,  a  special  election,  occasioned  by  the  death  of  An- 
drew Albright,  resulted  in  the  election  of  Lewis  Dewart,  Federal,  as 
he  was  called,  over  Ner  Middleswarth  and  E.  G.  Bradford,  Demo- 
crats, to  the  State  Senate.  The  vote  was  light,  and  stood  in  the 
district:   Dewart,  1192;   Middleswarth,  1059;    Bradford,  606. 

Marriages. 

At  Selinsgrove,  March  28,  George  A.  Snyder,  Esquire,  to  Miss 
Ann  Ellen,  daughter  of  the  late  Stephen  Duncan.  June  11,  at  Lew- 
isburg, by  John  Nesbit,  Esquire,  Lewis  Moore  to  Dorothy  Smith. 

Deaths. 

January  23,  Catherine,  widow  of  Elias  Youngman.  She  was  born 
in  1 745,  and  was  a  daughter  of  George  Nagel,  sheriff  of  Berks  county 
in  1772.  May  24,  William  Clingan,  Esquire,  of  White  Deer,  aged 
sixty-six.  He  left  a  widow,  Jane.  Children  :  Margaret,  wife  of 
Thomas  Scott;  Ann,  wife  of  Joseph  Lawson  ;  Thomas;  Elizabeth, 
married  to  Thomas  Barber;  George,  and  Flavel.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Reverend  John  Roan.  They  were  married  June  1 1 , 
1778,  and  resided  on  a  farm,  which  is  now  within  the  borough 
of  Mount  Joy,  Lancaster  county,  until  their  removal  to  Buffalo  Val- 
ley, in  1800.  William  Clingan,  member  of  Congress  from  Chester 
county,  during  the  Revolution,  was  his  uncle.  August  9,  Mary, 
wife  of  Peter  Himmelreich,  and  daughter  of  Captain  Peter  Withing- 
ton,  deceased.  Born  July  18,  1765.  Buried  in  the  Dreisbach 
church-yard. 

Tuesday,  November  26,  Honorable  Andrew  Albright  died  at  Sun- 


^jS  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEV.  [1822. 


bury,  after  an  illness  of  three  months,  in  his  fifty-third  year.  He 
was  born  at  Litiz,  February  28,  1770.  His  father's  name  was  An- 
drew; his  mother,  EHzabeth  Orth,  of  Lebanon.  His  first  wife  was 
a  daughter  of  Melchoir  Rahm,  a  very  prominent  man  in  Dauphin 
county.  Mr.  Albright  came  to  Lewisburg  in  1798  and  opened  a 
tavern  where  Halfpenny's  factory  now  stands,  where  he  resided  until 
he  was  elected  sheriff,  when  he  removed  to  Sunbury.  He  was  mem- 
ber of  Assembly  in  1808.  His  wife  died  March  9,  1810,  and  he 
subsetjuently  married  the  mother  of  Mrs.  John  G.  Youngman,  of 
Sunbury.  He  was  appointed  associate  judge  in  1813,  in  place  of 
General  Wilson,  deceased,  and  had  just  been  elected  to  the  State 
Senate  when  he  died.  He  was  noted  for  his  integrity,  and  was  very 
popular  throughout  our  Valley.  He  owned  Colonel  Slifer's  upper 
farm  on  Buffalo  creek  when  he  died.  He  left  no  children,  but 
brothers,  Henry,  Jacob,  Godfrey,  and  a  sister,  Susanna,  married  to 
Philip  Backman.  An  obituary  in  the  Siuibury  Enquirer  of  that 
date  concludes:  "  Societ'y  has  been  deprived  of  a  valuable  mem- 
ber, and  a  wife  of  an  amiable  husband.  In  private  life  he  sustained 
the  character  of  an  honest  man  and  christian,  and  was  universally 
beloved.  He  has  held  various  public  and  responsible  offices,  with 
honor  to  himself  and  advantage  to  his  fellow-citizens." 

December  13,  Henry  Pontius.  He  was  born  on  the  25th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1744,  came  into  the  Valley  as  a  pioneer  at  the  close  of  the 
French  war,  and  permanently  in  1770.  He  was  a  son  of  John,  and 
his  brothers  were  Andrew,  Peter,  Nicholas,  John,  junior,  George, 
and  Frederick.  Henry  Pontius  left  a  large  family  :  Andrew,  born 
June  17,  1770;  Frederick,  June,  1772;  Henry,  December  22,  1773; 
Nicholas,  19th  April,  1775;  Catherine,  (King,)  19th  May,  1777; 
John,  October  8,  1778;  George,  13th  December,  1780;  Peter,  20th 
March,  1783  ;  Christena,  12th  June,  1785  ;  Barbara,  June  13,  1787  ; 
Philip,  August  15,  1789.  The  latter  died  upon  the  old  place  on 
Cedar  run,  a  mile  east  of  Mifflinburg,  in  1872.  He  was  a  fine  old 
gentleman,  and  his  excellent  memory  preserved  many  incidents 
related  in  these  Annals.  His  remains  now  moulder  with  their  ances- 
tral dust,  in  the  old  burying-ground  upon  the  place. 


1823. 


General  Items — Election  Returns — Christian  Chapel  at  LEwisnruo — 
Kelly  Townsiiii'. 

ARKET  quotations  in  Philadelphia:  Wheat,  $1  35  ;  rye, 
75  cents;  butter,  18  cents;  whisky,  28  cents.  David 
Ramsay  carried  on  a  fulling  and  carding-mill  in  White 
Deer  ;  Daniel  Moyer  at  Weiser's  old  mill  in  East  Buffalo. 
Thomas  R.  Lewis  kept  hotel  at  the  sign  of  ''  The  Lewisburg  Stage," 
on  Market,  above  A.  Graham's  store. 

14th  March,  first  election  held  under  the  borough  charter  of 
Lewisburg :  John  Nesbit,  burgess ;  James  Geddes,  Alexander  Gra- 
ham, George  Knox,  Henry  Beck,  and  William  Hayes,  council.  3d 
May,  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Lewisburg  bridge  ;  George 
Kremer  elected  president,  and  the  first  dividend  of  $1  50  per  share 
of  $50  was  declared.  15th  May,  the  Lewistown  convention  held; 
Dan  Caldwell  and  John  Stees  delegates  from  Union  ;  Andrew 
Gregg  nominated  for  Governor.  9th  August,  a  Republican  meet- 
ing held  at  New  Berlin  ;  Frederick  Evans,  president ;  Andrew  Mc- 
Clenachan  and  George  A.  Snyder,  secretaries ;  in  favor  of  J.  A. 
Shulze  for  Governor.  October  4,  Simon  Snyder,  junior,  and  James 
Dale,  candidates  on  the  Shulze  ticket  for  Assembly;  William  Hayes 
and  Francis  A.  Boyer  on  the  Gregg  ticket  ;  Uriah  Silsby  for  com- 
missioner on  the  Shulze  ticket,  against  John  Rank.  October  5, 
Andrew  Reedy,  in  pursuance  of  a  banter  from  Major  John  C.  Coverly, 
attended  at  his  house  and  counted  down  $1,000,  which  he  offered 
to  bet  on  Shulze "^s  election,  and  could  get  no  takers. 

4S9 


4bo 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


[1823. 


ELECTION  RETURNS— October,  1823. 


GOVERNOR. 

ASSEMBLY. 

COMM 

'RS. 

DISTRICTS. 

fcb 

01 

1 

3 

m 

6 

>5 

C 

Si 

z 

JS 

o 

« 

c3 

o 

CO 

W 

w 

Q 

CO 

K 

CO 

Centre,       .... 

106 

100 

112 

111 

98 

94 

108 

100 

Wei  rick's,      .     .     . 

26 

74 

29 

30 

72 

70 

26 

74 

Cliupiiian,       .     .     . 

61 

73 

70 

70 

62 

•   62 

43 

69 

Perrv, 

29 

94 

30 

23 

97 

95 

27 

97 

Beaver,       .... 

102 

183 

98 

98 

186 

185 

97 

188 

Washington,       .     . 

82 

79 

10) 

83 

73 

65 

84 

76 

Penn's, 

132 

183 

135 

145 

175 

165 

134 

179 

Levvisburg,    .     .     . 

51 

62 

51 

64 

59 

52 

37 

76 

Hartley 

90 

153 

88 

96 

152 

149 

89 

148 

Wiiite  Deer,  .     .     , 

77 

210 

66 

83 

223 

211 

41 

250 

East  linffiilo,      .     . 

62 

209 

60 

71 

209 

102 

55 

215 

West  Buffalo,     .     . 

144 

164 

141 

45 

168 

151 

136 

171 

Union, 

141 

181 

137 

139 

17S 

171 

126 

178 

1103 

1765 

1117 

1058 

1752 

1572 

1003 

1821 

November  15,  the  stockholders  in  the  German  school-house  in 
Lewisburg  met,  and  elected  Henry  Hursh,  Charles  Beyers,  and  John 
Martin,  trustees,  and  decided  by  vote  that  the  trustees  should  select 
the  school-master,  instead  of  the  stockholders.  This  school-house 
was  situated  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  Lutheran  parsonage, 
and  was  erected  before  181 2,  and  kept  in  repair  by  subscription. 

i4tli  September,  Sabbath,  the  Christian  chapel  in  Lewisburg  was 
opened  for  worship.  Reverend  James  Kay  delivered  a  sermon  on 
the  occasion.  It  will  be  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  religious  liberty 
and  free  inquiry  to  learn  that  this  church  has  been  built  upon  the 
most  liberal  principles,  and  is  intended  to  accommodate  all  those 
wlio  acknowledge  the  divine  mission  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — Mil- 
toman.  Elijah  Bacon  commenced  a  series  of  meetings  in  1822, 
which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  this  congregation.  There  were 
to  be  no  pews  in  the  church,  but  Elder  Badger,  who  succeeded  him 
before  the  church  was  completed,  had  them  put  in.  George  Rich- 
mond became  the  preacher  in  1825.  Bacon's  points  were  mainly 
against  the  discipline  of  the  orthodox,  and  the  church  was  open  to 
all  persons  for  free  discussion  of  religious  tenets. 


1823.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  461 

The  Times  of  Saturday,  November  i,  says  :  "  On  Friday  morn- 
ing last,  as  Mr.  Jacob  Yutten,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Royer,  of  East  Buf- 
falo township,  in  this  county,  was  engaged,  with  several  others,  in 
tearing  down  a  log  house,  to  move  it  a  short  distance,  he  fell,  and, 
distressing  to  relate,  hit  his  head  again  a  joist,  and  mangled  it  in  such 
a  manner  that  he  expired  immediately  after." 

Friday,  December  4,  the  first  snow  of  the  season  fell. 

Kelly  Township  first  called  Pike. 

At  December  sessions,  1823,  Adam  Wilt,  Christian  Miller,  and 
George  Aurand  reported  a  new  township,  to  be  erected  from  White 
Deer,  and  called  Pike.  This  report  was  set  aside,  at  the  instance  of 
Dan  Caldwell,  so  Flavel  Clingan  informed  me,  and  new  viewers  ap- 
pointed, of  whom  Frederick  Evans  was  one,  who  iinally  reported  a 
township,  to  be  called  Kelly,  after  Colonel  Kelly. 

Marriages. 

1 8th  March,  John  P.  Gutelius,  of  Mifflinburg,  to  Miss  Maria  Au- 
rand, of  Lebanon.  loth  April,  Conrad  Grove,  merchant,  of  New 
Berlin,  to  Miss  Mary  Gingerich,  of  Juniata  county.  31st  July,  by 
Reverend  Samuel  Gutelius,  Michael  Hoffman  to  Lydia  Wagner,  both 
of  White  Deer.  September  25,  by  Reverend  John  Thomas,  Jacob 
Wagoner  to  Rachel,  daughter  of  Thomas  McGuire,  of  White  Deer. 


s 


1824. 


Kelly  Township  Erkctkd — State  Road  fhom  Bellekoxte  to  the  Mouth 
OF  White  Deer  Creek — Political — The  Clown  and  Rope  Dancer  at 
New  Berlin — Snyder's  Heius  vs.  Slmon  Snyder — Show  of  Wax  Fk;- 
URES — Trial  of  Samuel  Johnston. 

REDERICK  EVANSto  George  Kremer,  at  IVashing- 
fon,  D.  C. — "3d  January.  Duncan's  wife,  of  Penn's 
valley,  died  lately,  and  Thomas  R.  Lewis  died  about  the 
same  time.  Sick  since  November  8.  Solomon  Betz  and 
Wormly's  trial  came  on  last  court.  Verdict  for  Wormly,  $195.  Betz 
cut  scollops  until  he  had  the  judges  and  jurors  angry.  [This  is  an  allu- 
sion to  the  celebrated  trial  between  Betz  and  Wormly,  about  a  piece 
of  stove-pipe,  that  lasted  many  years,  and  broke  up  Wormly.]  8th 
February.  Yesterday  I  was  over  at  court,  and  find  we  shall  send  dele- 
gates to  Harrisburg,  with  instructions  to  vote  for  General  Jackson. 
If  we  cannot  succeed,  then  to  use  a  sound  discretion.  My  opinion 
would  be,  to  say,  if  we  cannot  get  Jackson  nominated,  our  delegates 
should  withdraw.  [He,  with  others,  was  getting  the  grist  ready  for 
the  county  convention.]  But  I  do  not  l)elieve  such  a  motion  would 
carry,  if  made.  I  spoke  with  Middleswarth.  He  says  he  is  for  Jack- 
son, but  will  support  the  congressional  caucus  man.  I  think  if  a 
caucus  cannot  be  prevented,  the  friends  of  Jackson  should  attend, 
but  not  pledge  themselves  to  a  foul  nomination.  I  saw  Dan  Cald- 
well. He  says  McClenachan  is  opposed  to  Jackson,  and  one  Reed, 
and  they  are  all  the  opponents  he  has  in  the  township,  [White  Deer,] 
if  Caldwell  tells  the  truth." 

Kelly  township  was  erected  during  this  year.   After  careful  search,  I 

462 


1824  ]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  463 

could  not  find  the  record.    The  first  constable,  however,  was  Albright 
Bower,  who  attended  at  May  sessions,  1825. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  an  act  was  passed  to  lay  out  the  State  road 
from  Bellefonte,  by  way  of  Sugar  valley,  to  the  river,  at  the  mouth 
of  White  Deer  creek. 

Political. 

September  17,  the  Democratic-Republican  convention  met  at  New 
Berlin,  John  Snyder,  president;  William  Linn,  secretary.  Kremer, 
Montgomery,  and  McKean  nominated  for  Congress ;  Aaron  Cham- 
berlin  and  F.  P.  Deering  for  Assembly. 

5th  October,  Independent  Republican  meeting,  Joseph  Musser, 
chairman  ;  Mathew  Brewer,  secretary.  Peter  Hackenburg  and  James 
McClellan  nominated  for  Assembly  ;  George  Weirick  for  commis- 
sioner. At  the  conferee  meeting,  on  the  21st  of  September,  Mc- 
Kean, Kremer,  and  Espy  Van  Home  were  nominated. 

In  November,  Union  county  gave  seven  hundred  majority  for  An- 
drew Jackson,  twenty-six  votes  for  Crawford,  two  for  Clay. 

Social. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  a  dancing  party  at  Mrs.  Gross 
man's  tavern,  in  New  Berlin,  on  the  evening  of  February  12  :  John 
Lashells,  Esquire,  and  wife,  James  Merrill,  Robert  Forster,  John 
Mumma,  Nathaniel  Henrie,  Henry  M.  W.  Kirke,  Ehas  P.  Young- 
man,  Robert  P.  Maclay,  Conrad  Grove,  John  Maize,  George  Shock, 
John  Seebold,  John  Lotz,  James  F.  Linn,  Mrs.  Henrie,  Elizabeth 
Jones,  Sarah  Messimer,  Catherine  Jones,  Mrs.  Grove,  Elizabeth 
Brooke,  Margaret  Kessler,  Mary  L.  Duncan,  Sarah  Weikert,  Mar- 
garet C.  Lashells,  Eleanor  C.  Lashells,  Elizabeth  S.  Stillwell,  Eliza- 
beth Winters,  Sarah  A.  Ingram.  John  Mumma  and  James  F.  Linn 
were  managers. 

It  was  a  Buffalo  Valley  custom,  on  wedding  occasions,  to  welcome 
the  bride  with  a  party  composed  of  elderly  folks.  Here  is  a  list, 
Wednesday  night,  October  20 :  Colonel  John  Kelly,  Elizabeth 
Kelly,  Doctor  Robert  Vanvalzah,  Elizabeth  Vanvalzah,  William 
Poak,  Esquire,   and  wife,  James  Dale,   Esquire,   Mrs.   Eliza  Dale, 


4b4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1824. 

Colonel  Aaron  Chamberlin  and  wife,  Andrew  McBeth  and  wife, 
John  Campbell,  Maria  Campbell,  Thomas  Sawyer,  Elizabeth  Saw- 
yer, William  Linn  and  wife,  Charles  Maclay,  Elizabeth  Vanvalzah. 
The  next  evening,  October  21st,  at  the  same  place,  the  festivities 
were  taken  up  by  the  young  people,  of  whom  were  :  William  Kelly, 
Andrew  Kelly,  Joseph  Kelly,  Robert  P.  Maclay,  Samuel  Gamble, 
James  Mathers,  F.  F.  Linn,  James  Sawyer,  Joseph  Candor,  John 
Young,  John  Vanvalzah,  Robert  Forster,  John  Chamberlin,  Mrs.  S. 
Kelly,  Miss  Sarah  Dorrough,  Sarah  McClellan,  Margaret  and  Cath- 
erine McClellan,  Sarah  Forster,  Hetty  Forster,  Catherine  Hood, 
Mary  Hood,  Frances  Chamberlin,  Elizabeth  Vanvalzah,  Margaret 
Vanvalzah,  Harriet  Candor,  Matilda  Sawyer,  Eleanor  Young,  Jane 
Davidson. 

k  Rope  Dancer  at  New  Berlin. 

'•'  This  summer  a  rope-dancer  and  his  clown  visited  New  Berlin,  and 
put  up  at  Seebold's,  where  he  proposed  to  display  his  agility  for  the 
amusement  of  the  people  and  the  replenishment  of  his  pockets. 
Before  he  mounted  the  slack  rope,  however,  he  must  needs  make  an 
equestrian  display,  in  order  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  public. 
He  applied  to  me  for  my  horse,  but  I  declined  giving  it.  Nat  Hen- 
rie,  a  waggish  printer,  happened  to  be  present,  volunteered  to  lend 
him  his,  a  handsome,  young  gray  mare.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
and  Nat  went  away  to  bridle  her.  He  soon  came  back  to  my  office, 
and  notified  me  that  there  would  be  some  fun  presently.  He  said 
he  had  put  on  the  mare  a  broken  bit,  which  he  had  mended  with 
twine.  He  said  the  mare  was  as  wild  as  the  devil,  and  if  the  clown 
attempts  to  hold  her  in  with  that  bridle,  there  will  be  a  ride  worth 
seeing.  Nat  then  walked  over  to  Seebold's,  and  engaged  the  clown 
in  conversation,  while  the  showman,  dressed  in  red  jacket,  white 
pants,  white  kid  boots,  and  with  his  hair  put  up  like  a  lady's,  with 
side  combs  and  in  puffs,  mounted  and  set  out.  When  Nat  judged 
that  the  showman  had  made  sufficient  headway,  he  let  loose  his  hold 
of  the  clown's  stirrup.  The  clown  followed  his  master  at  a  full 
gallop,  with  a  whoop  and  halloo  ;  the  mare  (juickened  her  speed  at 
the  sound.  The  showman  drew  bridle  with  all  his  strength,  the  bit 
gave  way,  the  rider  fell  on  his  back,  with  his  heels  in  the  air,  and 
then,  rolling  off,  alighted  on   hands  and  knees  upon   the  ground. 


1824.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  463 

Nat  ran  to  bis  stable,  whither  the  affrighted  mare  had  fled,'put_on 
another  bridle,  and,  returning,  condoled  with  the  showman  on  his 
misfortune,  and  offered  him  the  chance  of  another  ride.  This  he 
declined.  The  show  was  not  good  that  night,  on  account  of  the 
want  of  agility  of  the  rope-dancer." 

4th  December,  the  first  snow  of  the  winter  fell.  24th  and  25th 
December,  show  of  wax  figures  at  Christopher  Seebold's,  in  New 
Berlin  :  Macbeth  Consulting  the  Witch ;  General  Butler  and  the 
Indian  ;  Two  Chinese  Dwarfs  ;  An  American  Dwarf;  Harriet  Newell 
presenting  Tracts  to  Heathen  Children;  Seven  Boys  Chiming  Bells; 
hand  organ.     Admittance,  twelve  and  a  half  cents. 

If  a  man  had  a  lion  or  leopard,  a  porcupine  or  the  skin  of  a  huge 
snake,  he  wandered  about  the  country,  collecting  the  odd  change  of 
idlers,  children,  and  curiosity  hunters.  These  were  usually  exhibited 
in  a  stable  or  out-house.  Theaters  and  rope  dancing  in  the  ball- 
rooms of  the  tavern,  rooms  communicating  with  folding-doors,  of 
which  the  hotels  of  the  olden  times  were  never  without.  There  was 
exhibited  a  cat's  skin,  which  excited  considerable  attention,  and  was, 
indeed,  a  great  curiosity.  The  skin  was  white,  except  a  black  spot 
in  the  middle  of  the  back,,  resembling  the  bust  of  a  man  in  profile. 
So  perfect  was  the  resemblance,  that  it  required  close  examination 
to  satisfy  the  beholder  that  the  picture  was  not  a  work  of  art.  The 
owner,  on  one  occasion,  refused  three  thousand  dollars  for  it.  I 
cannot  tell  what  has  become  of  it,  but  believe  the  owner  took  it  to 
Europe,  and  disposed  of  it.  This  fact  should  induce  us  to  be  less 
skeptical  as  to  some  of  the  stories  of  the  ancient  historians  about  the 
lusus  natiirce,  which  so  often  alarmed  the  superstitious  Greeks  and 
Romans.  The  outline  of  the  head  was  as  perfect  and  complete  in 
all  its  parts  as  if  it  had  come  from  the  hands  of  the  most  skillful  pro- 
file cutter. —  G.  A.  S. 

John  Snyder's  Heirs  vs.  Simon  Snyder. 

This  hardly-contested  case  deserves  especial  mention  from  the 
great  interest  it  excited  in  the  minds  of  our  people  at  that  time.  It 
was  originally  brought  at  Sunbury,  and  the  claim  was  for  ninety- 
three  acres  of  land  on  the  Isle  of  Que.  George  A.  Snyder's  narra- 
tive of  it  is  as  follows : 
30 


^,-^^^       //*'-     ^^f^^^y     J"-^  ^1/  .  /  J ^  (t 


466  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1824. 

John  Snyder,  brother  of  my  father,  purchased  the  property  of 
Peter  Weiser,  in  1785.  John  died  from  a  fall  from  his  horse,  and 
his  widow  removed  to  Lancaster,  with  her  children.  She  afterwards 
married  Jacob  Kendig,  who  lived  a  mile  from  Selinsgrove,  up  the 
road  to  Sunbury. 

Simon  Snyder,  John  Miller,  and  Martin  Kendig  were  appointed 
administrators  of  John  Snyder.  The  estate  was  incumbered  largely, 
and  an  order  of  sale  was  obtained.  The  property  was  offered  for 
sale  at  Selinsgrove,  and  adjourned,  for  want  of  bidders,  to  Sunbury, 
and,  on  the  12th  of  November,  1790,  was  struck  off  to  Anthony 
Selin,  who  married  my  father's  sister.  My  father  advised  Selin 
not  to  buy,  thinking  he  would  have  trouble  in  paying  for  it.  Just 
as  it  was  about  being  struck  down,  Jacob  Kendig  put  in  a  bid,  for 
what  reason  he  never  explained,  but  as  he  and  the  whole  party  were 
somewhat  fuddled,  he  probably  bid  to  vex  Selin.  The  purchaser, 
after  some  swearing  at  Kendig,  treated  all  hands,  and  they  got  into 
the  ferry  scow  with  unsteady  steps  and  heated  brains.  On  the  water 
Selin  took  occasion  to  call  Kendig  a  damned  rascal,  and  then  to 
lick  him  for  not  acknowledging  the  truth  of  the  charge. 

Selin  entered  into  possession,  and  commenced  farming  the  land. 
He  was  then  in  partnership  with  my  father  in  a  mill,  erected  on  a 
tract  of  forty-two  acres,  part  of  the  tract  originally  owned  by  John 
Snyder,  and  which  they  had  purchased  of  John,  in  1787.  Selin 
1  died  in  1792,  leaving  two  children,  Anthony  and  Agnes.  The  latter 
I  married  James  K.  Davis,  about  the  year  1808.  My  father  was  nom- 
inated for  Governor,  and,  among  other  slanderous  reports  started 
against  him,  was  one  that  he  had  been  in  league  with  Selin,  and 
cheated  his  brother's  orphan  children  out  of  the  land.  Daniel  Smith, 
a  lawyer  and  active  politician,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  origina- 
tor of  the  story.  At  all  events,  he  was  active  in  spreading  it,  and 
persuaded  the  guardians  of  John  Snyder's  children  to  bring  an  eject- 
ment for  the  land. 

The  plaintiff  on  the  trial,  before  Judge  Chapman,  claimed  on 
three  grounds:  i.  That  the  orphans'  court  proceedings  were  irregu- 
lar. 2.  That  Selin's  violent  conduct  at  the  sale  prevented  others 
from  bidding.  3.  That  Simon  Snyder  was  in  partnership  with  Selin 
in  the  purchase,  had  come  into  possession  after  Selin's  death,  and 
had  spoken  of  the  property  as  his  own.     The  first  ground,  being 


1824.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  467 

matter  of  record,  was  decided  by  the  court  to  be  insufficent.  The 
second  and  third  grounds,  if  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  jury, 
were  sufficent  to  justify  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff.  The  jury,  however, 
without  much  hesitation,  gave  a  verdict  for  the  defendant.  The  judg- 
ment was  reversed  on  some  exceptions  to  the  admission  of  testimony 
being  such  as  lawyers  are  wont  to  make  in  order  to  have  the  chance 
of  another  trial. 

Soon  after  the  decision,  Anthony  Snyder  (John's  son)  removed 
to  the  Genessee  country,  (New  York.)  He  became  a  pettifogger, 
and  met  with  great  success  in  his  vocation.  Union  county  was 
erected  in  1813,  and  the  cause  removed  thither.  Anthony  Snyder 
and  Daniel  Rhoads  came  to  Pennsylvania,  as  the  representatives  of 
the  plaintiffs,  to  attend  to  the  trial.  There  being  much  delay  in 
coming  to  trial,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  collecting  the  wit- 
nesses, who  were  numerous  and  much  scattered,  and  on  account 
of  the  indolence  and  dilatory  temper  of  Judge  Chapman,  Anthony 
and  Daniel  traversed  the  county,  visiting  the  taverns  and  all  kinds  of 
gatherings,  and  holding  forth  in  piteous  style  on  the  subject  of  the 
frauds,  whereby  the  defendant  had  cheated  his  orphan  nephews  and 
neices  out  of  their  inheritance.  A  general  prejudice  was  thus  ex- 
cited, and  an  impartial  trial  became  impossible.  Had  the  judge 
been  a  man  of  courage  and  firmness,  in  whose  legal  qualifications 
the  bar  and  the  public  had  confidence,  he  might  have  secured  a 
righteous  verdict.  But  the  clamor  terrified  him.  He  continued 
the  cause  from  term  to  term,  and  from  year  to  year,  on  almost  any 
pretext ;  his  fears  and  indolence  making  him  unwilling  to  face  the . 
long  and  wearisome  case. 

The  second  trial  came  off,  I  think,  in  181 6.  The  judge  saw  clearly 
where  justice  was,  but,  weak  and  timid,  he  shuffled  in  his  decisions 
and  in  his  charge,  and  there  was  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiffs.  The 
partnership  they  endeavored  to  prove  by  general  repute.  Their  only 
witnesses  were  illiterate,  and  sometimes  dishonest,  laborers,  who  had, 
more  than  twenty  years  before,  worked  for  Selin  and  my  father ; 
while  Kremer,  Evans,  Simon  Snyder,  junior,  well  acquainted  with 
the  parties,  testified  to  the  real  extent  of  the  partnership. 

The  amount  of  perjury  on  the  plaintiff's  side  was  surprisingly  great. 
The  main  witness  to  the  aflegation  that  Selin's  threats  had  frightened 
off  bidders  was  a  man  named  Bower,  from  Dauphin  county,  who 


468  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1824. 

swore  that  but  for  Selin's  threats  he  would  have  given  ^400  or  ;2{^5oo 
more.  The  defendant  proved  that  Bower  said  on  his  way  home  that 
the  land  went  too  high,  and  no  sane  man  would  give  so  much  for  it. 

The  oldest  land-holders  of  the  vicinity,  Boyd,  DeGruchy,  Leisen- 
ring,  Taggert,  Dentler,  and  others,  unanimously  testified  the  land 
sold  above  its  value,  it  being  island  land. 

The  defendant's  counsel,  apprehending  the  result  from  the  violence 
of  the  prejudice,  presented  numerous  points,  and  upon  a  writ  of  er- 
ror, the  judgment  was  reversed.  Soon  after  this  my  father  died,  and 
Anthony  Selin,  the  younger,  and  James  K.  Davis,  were  substituted 
as  defendants.  An  attempt  was  made  to  put  the  costs,  thus  far  ac- 
crued, upon  Simon  Snyder's  estate  ;  but  the  court  decided  that  Selin's 
heirs  had  all  the  time  been  the  real  defendants,  and  that  Simon  Sny- 
der had  only  been  nominally  defendant. 

The  cause  was  tried  again  in  1823  ;  Lashells  and  Hepburn  for 
plaintiffs  ;  Bellas  and  Greenough  for  defendants.  The  clamors  of  the 
plaintiffs  and  the  weakness  of  the  judge  made  it  more  than  ever  a 
hopeless  task  for  the  defendants.  A  verdict  was  again  had  against 
them,  followed  by  a  reversal  by  the  Supreme  Court.  Another  ver- 
dict must  have  been,  under  our  judicial  system,  final,  provided  it 
should  be  for  the  plaintiffs, ^nd  this  was  almost  certain  to  be  the  case. 
The  defendants  resolved  to  refer  the  case  to  arbitrators.  I  was  pro- 
thonotary,  and,  on  account  of  my  consanguinity  to  defendants,  liable 
to  be  objected  to.  Mr.  Maclay,  the  register,  acted  in  my  place.  He 
was  an  upright  man,  and  performed  his  duty  faithfully.  The  number 
of  referees  was  five.  Joseph  Rathfon  was  the  only  one  that  was  not 
objected  to  of  the  five  nominated  by  each  party.  Mr.  Maclay  made 
then  a  list  of  twenty  names,  and  each  party  struck  eight  names. 
The  board  thus  formed,  Dan  Caldwell,  Michael  Rathfon,  Valentine 
Haas,  John  Reifsnyder,  and  Joseph  Spotts,  gave  an  award  for  the  de- 
fendants. Plaintiffs  then  resolved  to  appeal,  and  Doctor  Atlee,  of 
Philadelphia,  came  with  Mr.  Lashells,  the  leading  counsel  on  his 
side,  to  enter  the  appeal.  I  was  desired  to  take  the  necessary  affi- 
davit and  bond,  and  lay  them  aside  for  the  present,  until  the  costs, 
which  were  necessary  to  be  paid,  should  be  forwarded,  and  then  I 
was  to  file  the  affidavit  and  enter  the  appeal.  The  taxation  of  costs 
was  difficult  and  tedious.  Many  of  the  subpoenas  had  been  lost, 
and  as  no  account  had  been  kept  of  time,  the  defendants  had  to  make 


1824.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  46^ 

their  bill  very  low  to  avoid  exceptions.  The  amount,  however,  after 
all  allowances,  was  upwards  of  ^i  ,500.  The  twenty  days  elapsed,  and 
no  costs  were  paid  ;  the  defendants  demanded  judgment,  which  I 
entered  with  good-will.     So  ended  the  Isle  of  Que  case. 

The  reason  why  the  costs  were  not  forthcoming,  we  learned  after- 
wards. When  Doctor  Atlee  got  back  to  Philadelphia,  he  took  coun- 
sel of  David  Paul  Brown,  his  attorney,  who  advised  him  not  to  pay 
over  the  costs,  as  the  mere  taking  of  the  affidavit  and  bond  for 
future  costs  constituted  an  appeal — that  I  would  be  liable  to  the  de- 
fendants for  costs.  When  Mr.  Lashells  wrote  to  inquire  why  the 
costs  were  not  forthcoming,  and  was  informed  of  Mr.  Brown's 
advice,  he  refused  to  be  a  party  to  any  such  unfair  dealing,  and 
added  that  he  felt  sure  the  court  would  not  allow  an  appeal  to  be 
entered  ;  that  it  was  ungenerous  to  throw  Mr.  Snyder  into  the  costs 
for  an  act  of  kindness  to  Doctor  Atlee,  to  save  him  a  journey  from 
Philadelphia,  by  taking  the  affidavit  and  bond  while  he  was  at  New 
Berlin. 

The  plaintiffs  then  brought  a  suit  in  the  United  States  court,  at 
Philadelphia,  for  that  part  which  lay  west  of  Penn's  creek,  and  on 
which  Selinsgrove  was  built.  The  first  attempts  to  bring  on  the  suit 
to  trial  failed,  for  the  absence  of  witnesses,  who  were  too  old  and  in- 
firm to  go  so  far.  A  rule  to  take  depositions  was  then  entered. 
Here  David  Paul  once  more  proved  their  evil  genius.  The  rule  of 
court  required  the  depositions  to  be  forwarded  under  the  seal  of  the 
justice  or  commissioner,  to  the  clerk  of  the  court,  to  be  by  him 
opened.  The  justice  did  his  part  correctly,  but  the  bearer,  who  was 
a  friend  of  the  plaintiffs,  handed  them  first  to  Mr.  Brown,  who  igno- 
rantly,  or  regardless  of  the  rule,  broke  them  open  and  perused  them. 
He  then  took  them  to  the  clerk,  but  the  latter  refused  either  to  re- 
ceive or  file  them.  A  few  days  afterward  the  case  was  called  up, 
the  depositions  were  rejected  by  the  court,  and  the  plaintiffs  suffered 
a  non-suit. 

December  25,  Samuel  Johnston,  aged  twelve,  tried  for  setting  fire 
to  his  uncle  Jacob  Johnston's  barn,  in  West  Buffalo.  He  was  con- 
victed, but  obtaining  a  new  trial,  was  acquitted  at  May  sessions, 
1825.  Mumma,  district  attorney,  and  C.  A.  Bradford  for  Com- 
monwealth ;  Horning,  Van  Home,  Packer,  and  W.  Cox  Ellis  for 
defendant. 


470  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1824. 


Deaihs. 

April  9,  William  Wilson,  of  Kelly  township,  aged  eighty-two.  He 
came  into  the  Valley  in  1772,  and  his  eldest  daughter,  Martha,  was 
born  in  1774.  His  children  were  :  Thomas,  born  August  18,  1776, 
died  May  23,  1831  ;  James,  born  August  3,  1778,  died  December  26, 
1831;  Mary,  born  April  14,  1783,' married  William  Hayes,  died 
December  10,  1827;  William,  junior,  many  years  a  merchant  at 
Lewisburg,  born  August  10,  1787,  died  June  12,  1783;  Samuel, 
died  January  16,  1843;  Effie,  married  to  William  Murray,  died 
January  23,  1853  ;  Eliza,  who  married  Peter  Nevius,  alone  survives. 

David  Soult,  born  March  18,  1752,  enlisted  in  Northampton 
county,  in  Captain  Marien  Lamar's  company,  and  served  in  Canada 
in  1776,  and  afterwards  enlisted  in  the  second  Pennsylvania.  His 
captain,  who  was  major  of  the  second,  was  killed  at  Paoli.  Soult 
was  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown,  Monmouth,  and  at 
the  storming  of  the  block-house.  He  left  five  children  :  John,  Jacob, 
Philip,  George,  and  Michael. 

October  4,  at  New  Berlin,  Adam  Specht,  shoe-maker ;  enlisted  as 
a  private,  (in  Colonel  Nicholas  Haussegger's  German  regiment,)  at 
Shafferstown,  May,  1776;  discharged  at  Northumberland  by  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Lewis  Wiltner,  in  1779. 

Marriages. 

22d  July,  Nathan  Jordan,  merchant,  to  Miss  Hannah  Smith,  both 
of  White  Deer.  24th  August,  by  Reverend  Heim,  Conrad  Pontius, 
of  Ohio,  to  Miss  Mary  Seebold,  of  New  Berlin.  26th,  by  Reverend 
Thomas  Hood,  Captain  James  Magee  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Strayhorn, 
of  West  Buffalo.  14th  October.  William  Linn,  of  Kelly,  to  Miss 
Jane  Morrow,  of  Franklin  county.  14th  October,  by  Reverend 
Jacol)  W.  Smith,  Martin  Dreisbach,  junior,  to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Solomon  Kleckner.  31st  October,  by  Reverend  Martin  Dreis- 
bach, Isaac  Peters  to  Miss  Susan  Miller,  of  New  Berlin.  December 
16,  William  C.  Stedman  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Hugh  Wilson. 


rf 


18^3 


George  Kp.emer's  Article  in  the  ''  Columbian  Observer,"  and  Henry 
Clay's  Card — Reception  of  Mr.  Kremer  at  Lewisburg — Weather 
Record — Peculiarities  of  the  Bar — The  Showman  at  New  Berlin 
— Witchcraft  Farce  in  Beaver  Township. 

[From  the  Columbian  Observer.] 

Washington,  January  25,  1825. 
^EAR  SIR :  I  take  up  my  pen  to  inform  you  of  one  of 
the  most  disgraceful  transactions  that  ever  covered  with 
infamy  tlie  Republican  ranks.  Would  you  believe  that 
men  professing  Democracy  could  be  found  base  enough 
to  lay  the  axe  at  the  very  root  of  the  tree  of  Liberty  ?  Yet,  strange 
as  it  is,  it  is  not  less  true.  To  give  you  a  full  history  of  the  trans- 
action would  far  exceed  the  limits  of  a  letter.  I  shall,  therefore,  at 
once  proceed  to  give  you  a  brief  account  of  such  a  bargain  as  can 
only  be  equalled  by  the  Famous  Burr  Conspiracy  oi  1801.  For 
some  time  past,  the  friends  of  Clay  have  hinted  that  they,  like  the 
Swiss,  would  fight  for  those  who  would  pay  best.  Overtures  were 
said  to  have  been  made  by  the  friends  of  Adams  to  the  friends  of 
Clay,  offering  him  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  State  for  his  aid 
to  elect  Adams.  And  the  friends  of  Clay  gave  this  information  to 
the  friends  of  Jackson,  and  hinted  that  if  the  friends  of  Jackson 
would  offer  the  same  price,  they  would  close  with  them.  But  none 
of  the  friends  of  Jackson  would  descend  to  such  mean  barter  and 
sale.  It  was  not  believed  by  any  of  the  friends  of  Jackson  that  this 
contract  would  be  ratified  by  the  members  from  the  States  who  had 
voted  for  Mr.  Clay. 

I  was  of  opinion,  when  I  first  heard  of  this  transaction,  that  men, 
professing  any  honorable  principles,  could  not,  nor  would  not,  be 

47^ 


472  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1825. 

transferred  like  the  planter  does  his  negroes,  or  the  farmer  his  team 
and  horses.  No  alarm  was  excited — we  believed  the  Republic  was 
safe.  The  nation,  having  delivered  Jackson  into  the  hands  of  Con- 
gress, backed  by  a  large  majority  of  their  votes,  there  was  on  my 
mind  no  doubt  that  Congress  would. respond  to  the  will  of  the  nation, 
by  electing  the  individual  they  had  declared  to  be  their  choice.  Con- 
trary to  this  expectation,  it  is  now  ascertained  to  a  certainty  that 
Henry  Clay  has  transferred  his  interest  to  John  Quincy  Adams.  As 
a  consideration  for  this  abandonment  of  duty  to  his  constituents,  it 
is  said  and  believed,  should  this  unholy  coalition  prevail,  Clay  is  to 
be  appointed  Secretary  of  State.  I  have  no  fears  on  my  mind — I 
am  clearly  of  opinion  we  shall  defeat  every  combination.  The  force 
of  public  opinion  must  prevail,  or  there  is  an  end  of  liberty. 

[From  the  National  Intelligencer.] 

A  Card I  have  seen,  without  any  other  emotion  than  that  of 

ineffable  contempt,  the  abuse  which  has  been  poured  upon  me  by  a 
scurrilous  paper,  issued  in  this  city,  and  by  other  kindred  prints  and 
persons,  in  regard  to  the  presidential  election.  The  editor  of  one 
of  those  prints,  ushered  forth  in  Philadelphia,  called  the  Columbian 
Observer,  for  which  I  do  not  subscribe,  and  which  I  have  not  or- 
dered, has  had  the  impudence  to  transmit  to  me  his  vile  paper  of  the 
28th  instant.  In  that  number  is  inserted  a  letter,  purporting  to  have 
been  written  from  this  city,  on  the  25th  instant,  by  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  belonging  to  the  Pennsylvania  delegation. 
I  believe  it  to  be  a,  forgery  ;  but,  if  it  be  genuine,  I  pronounce  the 
member,  whoever  he  may  be,  a  base  and  infamous  cahminiator,  a 
DASTARD,  and  A  LIAR,  and  if  he  dare  unveil  himself  and  avow  his 
name,  I  will  hold  him  responsible,  as  I  here  admit  myself  to  be,  to 
all  THE  LAWS  which  govern  and  regulate  the  conduct  of  MEN  OF 
HONOR. 

H.  Clay. 

2,\st  January,  1825. 

Another  Card. — George  Kremer,  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, tenders  his  respects  to  the  Honorable  "  H.  Clay,"  and  informs 
him  that,  by  reference  to  the  editor  of  the  Columbian  Observer,  he 
may  ascertain  the  name  of  the  writer  of  a  letter  of  the  25th  ultimo, 
which  it  seems  has  afforded  so  much  concern  to  "  H.  Clay."  In  the 
meantime,  George  Kremer  holds  himself  responsible  to  prove,  to  the 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  473 

satisfaction  of  unprejudiced  minds,  enough  to  satisfy  them  of  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  statements  which  are  contained  in  that  letter,  to  the 
extent  that  they  concern  the  course  and  conduct  of  "  H.  Clay." 
Being  a  representative  of  the  people,  he  will  not  fear  to  "  cry  aloud 
and  spare  not,"  when  their  rights  and  privileges  are  at  stake. 

On  the  return  of  Mr.  Kremer,  the  citizens  of  Lewisburg  assembled 
at  the  house  of  Thomas  R.  Lewis.  Alexander  Graham  was  chosen 
chairman,  and  John  Sargeant,  secretary.  The  object  of  the  meeting 
being  stated  from  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted,  viz  : 

Resolved,  That  James  Geddes,  Doctor  Thomas  Vanvalzah,  Daniel 
C.  Ambler,  Jacob  Bogar,  and  Doctor  William  Joyce,  be  a  commit- 
tee of  arrangement  to  carry  the  object  of  the  meeting  into  effect, 
and  that  they  draft  an  address  to  the  Honorable  George  Kremer, 
inviting  him  to  a  public  dinner,  at  the  house  of  T.  R.  Lewis,  on 
Saturday,  the  26th  instant. 

Resolved,  That  a  general  invitation  be  given  to  the  friends  of  the 
Honorable  George  Kremer. 

Committee's  Invitation. 

Dear  Sir  :  We,  the  undersigned,  appointed  a  committee  of 
arrangement,  present  our  compliments  to  you,  and  respectfully  re- 
quest the  honor  of  your  company,  at  the  house  of  Thomas  R.  Lewis, 
on  Saturday,  the  26th  instant,  to  partake  of  a  public  dinner,  with 
your  fellow-citizens  of  the  borough  of  Lewisburg  and  its  vicinity,  to 
be  given  as  a  manifestation  of  their  respect  and  gratitude  for  your 
firm,  dignified,  and  patriotic  conduct,  as  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States ;  but  more  especially  for  your 
unremitted  and  vigorous  efforts  to  stem  the  torrent  of  corruption, 
which  threatened  to  inundate  the  national  Legislature. 

With  sentiments  of  esteem,  we  remain  yours,  dear  sir,  very  re- 
spectfully, 

William  Joyce, 

James  Geddes, 
T.  Vanvalzah, 
D.  C.  Ambler, 
Jacob  Bogar. 
The  Honorable  George  Kremer. 


474  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1825. 


To  which  Mr.  Kremer  returned  the  following  answer : 

Lewisburg,  March  23,  1825. 

Gentlemen  :  Your  friendly  invitation  to  me,  to  partake  of  a 
public  dinner  at  the  house  of  T.  R.  l.ewis,  on  the  26th  instant,  has 
just  been  received.  This  new  testimonial  of  regard  and  kindness 
towards  me  is  a  sure  pledge  that  the  representative  who  discharges 
his  duty  with  good  faith,  will  always  "be  supported  and  sustained  by 
a  virtuous  and  patriotic  people.  I  need  not  say  to  you,  that  how- 
ever averse  I  should  feel  on  ordinary  occasions,  on  the  present  I 
shall  waive  all  ol)jections,  and  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  dine  with 
my  fellow-citizens.     Accept  the  assurance  of  my  sincere  respect  and 

regard. 

George  Kremer. 

Messrs.  James  Geddes,  Doctor  Thom.\s  Vanvalzah,  D.  C.  Ambler, 

Doctor  William  Joyce,  Jacob  Bogar. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th,  pursuant  to  previous  arrangement,  the 
long  room  of  Mr.  Lewis  was  crowded  to  overflowing.  Colonel 
James  Dale  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  John  Sargent  appointed 
Secretary. 

The  company  sat  down  to  a  splendid  entertainment  provided  for 
the  occasion.  After  the  cloth  was  removed,  the  following  toasts 
were  drunk  with  much  hilarity  and  good  glee.      *         *         *         * 

9.  Honorable  George  Kremer,  our  worthy  guest,  the  intrepid 
and  watchful  guardian  of  the  people's  rights — When  corruption 
reared  its  hydra  head,  he  ''cried  aloud,  and  spared  not."  [Here 
Mr.  Kremer  rose,  and  delivered  a  short  and  very  appropriate  ad- 
dress.] 

Volunteers. 

By  Jonathan  Smith:  The  intrepid  Kremer — Like  David  of  old,  he 
slew  the  modern  Goliah,  the  giant  of  intrigue,  made  of  Clay,  daubed 
with  corruption. 

William  Kelly  :  The  apostate  BRECK — a  member  of  Congress, 
belonging  to  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  ;  he  was  surely  a  bastard, 
not  a  legitimate  son  of  Pennsylvania. 

John   Sargent :      Our  worthy  fellow-citizen  and  guest,   George 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  475 

Kremer — His  patriotism  and  manly  firmness,  in  exposing  the  corrupt 
intrigues  of  a  political  gambler,  claim  our  best  plaudfts  and  gratitude. 

Henry  Beck  :  Greece — The  ancient  seat  01"  the  muses,  of  science 
and  philosophy  ;   she  was  great ;   she  will  be  great  again. 

Alexander  Morton  :  The  government  of  the  Union,  like  a  pure 
stream,  may  it  have  no  foul  Clay  to  pollute  it. 

John  Machemer  :  The  hero  of  New  Orleans — the  firm  patriot  and 
statesman  ;  the  second  savior  of  his  country  ;  the  protector  Of  beauty 
and  booty;  if  he  is  one  of  the  "military  chieftans,"  may  the 
genius  of  liberty  send  us  a  great  many  of  them. 

Doctor  Samuel  Strohecker  :  The  press — the  grand  engine  of  lib- 
erty and  civilization  ;  destined  to  illuminate,  emancipate,  and  exalt 
the  world. 

John  Musser  :  The  editors  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  who  de- 
clined publishing  the  patriotic  letter  of  Mr.  Kremer,  addressed  to  his 
constituents — Fit  tools,  indeed,  to  execute  the  purposes  of  the  Holy 
Alliance. 

Daniel  Beyers  :  May  Pennsylvania  and  our  sister  States  be  forever 
blessed  with  such  bright  members  as  our  worthy  fellow-citizen,  George 
Kremer,  who  will  unshield  all  intrigues,  without  respect  to  persons, 
and  that,  too,  at  the  risk  of  his  popularity. 

Alexander  Graham  :  The  people  of  Pennsylvania,  and  our  worthy 
countryman,  George  Kremer,  Esquire. 

John  Reber :  The  press — On  its  freedom  depends  the  happiness, 
liberty,  and  independence  of  the  world. 

Jacob  Reedy:  General  Jackson — As  a  soldier,  statesman,  and 
patriot,  unequaled  ;   may  he  be  our  next  President. 

John  Hummel :  The  Government  of  the  United  States  has  been 
seized  by  a  Quincy,  produced  by  the  putrid  exhalations  of  a  tobacco 
pipe,  made  of  Clay,  drenched  in  corruption — It  will  prove  fatal  in 
less  than  four  years. 

George  Schnabel:  Our  next  Gov'ernor — A  man  of  stern  integrity 
and  undeviating  republican  principles. 

Andrew  Reedy  :  Thank  Providence  the  freemen  of  the  United 
States  made  choice  of  a  hero  and  statesman,  in  preference  to  a  po- 
litical gambler. 

John  Brown  :    The  corruptionists  in  Congress — may  they  meet 


4-jb  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1825. 

with  the  same  fate  hereafter,  as  did  Henry  Clay  in  his  late  attempt 
to  disgrace  the  Pennsylvania  farmer. 

Clement  Beckwith  :  Henry  Clay  and  John  Q.  Adams — From  every 
consideration,  there  is  nothing  good  they  have  said  or  can  do  ;  may 
they  sink  in  their  corruption,  and  the  friends  of  freedom  stand  up  in 
their  shoes. 

Thomas  R.  Lewis  :  Henry  Clay,  who  smuggled  J.  Q.  Adams  into 
the  presidential  chair,  as  the  serpent  did  original  sin  into  Paradise 
— May  the  flaming  sword  of  the  people  thrust  them  both  out  in  the 
year  1829. 

Jacob  Musser  :  Adam,  the  first  man,  was  made  of  clay — Adams 
was  made  President  by  Clay  and  corruption. 

George  Kremer  was  the  nephew  of  Governor  Snyder,  and  came 
to  reside  with  him  when  a  mere  lad.  He  was  very  ill  formed,  but 
not  the  least  ashamed  of  his  ugliness,  and  rather  inclined  to  feel 
proud  of  his  distinction  in  this  respect.  He  grew  up  to  be  stout, 
and  soon  became  able  to  fight  his  own  battles,  in  an  age  and  a  dis- 
trict where  broils  were  of  daily  occurrence.  This  region,  then 
called  by  the  general  name  of  Shamokin,  was  in  those  days  the  fron- 
tier, and  looked  upon  by  the  dwellers  on  the  sea-board,  as  we  look 
upon  Iowa  and  Kansas  at  the  present  time.  It  served  as  a  place  of 
refuge  for  all  runaway  and  desperate  characters  from  the  south  east- 
ern counties.  The  sheriff  and  constable  seldom  ventured  into  the 
wilds  on  this  side  of  the  river,  which  acquired  the  significant  title  of 
RascaV s  creek. 

George  was  remarkable  for  shrewdness,  no  less  than  for  courage 
and  bodily  strength,  and  he  became,  in  a  short  time,  a  person  of 
great  influence  among  the  hardy  inhabitants  of  the  new  country.  In 
addition  to  his  other  good  qualities,  he  was  strictly  honest,  and  his 
word  was  his  bond.  Whatever  he  did,  he  did  it  with  all  his  might. 
With  such  qualifications  and  endowments,  it  is  no  matter  of  wonder 
that  he  became  a  leading  man  so  soon  as  he  embarked  in  politics. 
After  serving  several  terms  as  a  member  of  our  State  Legislature,  he 
was  elected  to  Congress,  and  here  acquired  the  distinction  which  he 
enjoyed. 

In  1825,  it  having  been  ascertained  that  neither  of  the  candidates 
for  the  Presidency  had  received  the  constitutional  majority  of  votes, 
the  matter  was  referred  to  Congress.    Mr.  Adams,  General  Jackson, 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  477 


Mr.  Clay,  and  Mr.  Crawford  were  the  candidates,  and  as  the  choice 
of  Congress  lay  between  the  two  first,  there  was,  of  course,  consid- 
erable intriguing  on  the  part  of  the  two  latter  and  their  friends. 
The  friends  of  Jackson,  finding  that  Mr.  Clay  and  his  friends  were 
decidedly  hostile  to  their  candidate,  and,  indeed,  made  no  secret  of 
their  aversion  to  him,  resolved,  after  in  vain  trying  the  arts  of  per- 
suasion, to  resort  to  intimidation.  They  caused  a  letter  to  be  writ- 
ten and  published  in  the  Columbian  Observer,  of  Philadelphia, 
which  stated  that  a  corrupt  bargain  had  been  made  between  Messrs. 
Adams  and  Clay,  in  pursuance  of  which,  the  latter  was  to  transfer 
his  vote,  and  the  vote  of  his  friends  to  Mr.  Adams,  who  was  to 
make  him  Secretary  of  State,  as  his  reward. 

On  the  day  after  the  appearance  of  the  letter,  Mr.  Clay,  then 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  moved  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  this  charge.  Mr.  Kremer 
seconded  the  motion,  stating  that  he  was  ready  with  the  proofs,  and 
willing  to  meet  the  inquiry.  The  motion  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Mc- 
Duffie  and  some  others,  friends  to  Jackson,  on  the  ground  that  there 
was  not  sufficient  reason  to  consume  the  time  of  the  House  in  inves- 
tigating a  frivolous  newspaper  charge — a  charge  which  no  one  ac- 
quainted with  the  parties  concerned  would  believe.  Mr.  Clay  had 
even  insisted  on  his  right  to  clear  his  character  from  the  stain  thus 
publicly  attempted  to  be  fixed  on  it,  and  Mr.  Kremer  eagerly  sec- 
onded him,  exulting  in  the  anticipated  certain  confounding  of  the 
Clay  and  Adams  party. 

Not  one,  however,  of  those  who  had  put  him  upon  writing  the 
letter,  supported  him,  or  manifested  any  anxiety  for  the  proposed 
inquiry.  The  committee  was  appointed.  On  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  Kremer  discovered  that  his  friends  coqld  furnish  him  with 
no  evidence  to  support  his  charge,  and  that  he  must  get  out  of  the 
scrape  as  well  as  he  could.  On  the  succeeding  day,  the  committee 
notified  him  they  were  ready  to  proceed.  In  answer  to  which,  he 
wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  chairman,  declining  to  appear,  alleging 
that  as  he  had  made  no  formal  charges,  the  committee  could  have 
no  jurisdiction — that  his  charge  was  made  for  the  public,  &c.  This 
special  pleading  was  so  nearly  identified  with  the  argument  of  Mr. 
McDuffie  on  the  preceding  day,  in  the  motion  for  inquiry,  as  to  lead 
some  to  suspect  that  he,  (Mr.  McDuffie,)  was  its  author ;  but  the 


478  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  1_1825. 

character  of  Mr.  McDuffie  forbids  us  to  harbor  any  such  suspicion. 
It  was  probably  the  production  of  Mr.  Ingham,  who,  as  afterwards 
appeared,  was  Kremer's  chief  prompter  in  this  business.  It  was 
natural  for  him  to  adopt  Mr.  McDuffie's  arguments,  being  the  best 
and,  indeed,  only  mode  of  getting  clear  of  the  difficulty. 

One  might  have  supposed  that  this  disgraceful  retreat  would  have 
convinced  the  whole  public  of  the  falsehood  of  Kremer's  charge, 
but  political  faith  covers  mountains,  and  the  charge  was  eagerly 
entertained  and  reiterated  by  the  partisans  of  Jackson.  Kremer 
himself,  as  appears  from  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Crowninshield,  doubted, 
at  the  last,  and  had  a  letter  of  apology  ready  for  Mr.  Clay,  which 
Mr.  Ingham  found  means  to  suppress. 

Such  was  the  eagerness  with  which  the  Pennsylvanians  received 
the  corruption  story,  and  such  the  cloud  of  incense  with  which  Kre- 
mer was  fumigated,  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  his  brain  was  affected, 
and  he  really  believed  himself  the  savior  of  his  country's  liberty. 
His  vanity  became  excessive,  and  as  Cicero  of  old  continually  rung 
the  charges  in  his  later  orations,  on  the  names  of  Lentulus  and 
Cataline,  so  Kremer  made  corruption,  and  his  famous  letter,  the 
eternal  burden  of  his  song. 

Finding  that  the  corruption  story  was  unsparingly  used  against 
him  by  the  Jacksonians,  notwithstanding  the  way  in  which  they  had 
backed  out  of  the  charge,  and  that  even  General  Jackson  had  con- 
descended to  lend  the  authority  of  his  name  to  this  shameless  cal- 
umny, Mr.  Clay  took  the  trouble  to  collect  the  letters,  certificates, 
and  affidavits  of  almost  every  one  who  could  have  any  knowledge 
of  the  matter  in  agitation,  and  published  them  in  a  pamphlet. 
These  testimonials,  coming  from  upwards  of  fifty  persons  o^^a// 
parties,  formed  a  inost  triumphant  refutation  of  the  corruption  story. 
But  it  was  all  in  vain  for  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay.  The  popular 
mind  had  been  roused  to  phrensy,  and  was  utterly  inaccessible  to 
all  reason.  Jackson  was  elected,  in  1828,  by  a  decided  majority, 
and  Kremer,  having  answered  the  purpose  of  his  party,  was  for- 
gotten at  once.  Too  honest  to  take  a  part  in  the  intrigues  of  his 
fellow-partisans  at  Washington,  he  could  not  make  himself  of  any 
further  use  to  them,  and  was  pushed  aside  to  make  room  for  those 
who  knew  how  to  make  the  best  use,  for  selfish  purposes,  of  his  ser- 
vices.    For  some  years  after  he  was  left  out  of  Congress,  he  con- 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  479 

tinned  to  make  speeches"  at  public  meetings,  the  burden  of  which 
was  "corruption"  and  "My  letter  to  the  Columbia  Observer y 
His  action,  in  speaking,  was  vehement  and  ungraceful,  his  voice 
loud,  and  his  accentuation  false  and  ranting,  such  as  school-boys  are 
apt  to  acquire  under  the  tuition  of  an  injudicious  teacher.  His 
honesty  and  zeal  no  one  doubted ;  but  designing  demagogues  con- 
trived, by  dexterous  management,  to  keep  him  back,  as  he  was  too 
straightforward  for  them,  and  if  admitted  to  their  councils,  would 
mar  the  harmony  of  their  best  laid  plans  by  denouncing  their  selfish- 
ness and  unfair  dealing.  There  was  neither  selfishness  nor  mean- 
ness about  him,  and  had  he  condescended  to  cringe  to  the  party 
leaders  in  1 828-1829,  when  his  name  was  in  the  mouth  of  every  one, 
or  had  he  intimated  that  his  influence  might  possibly  be  turned 
against  Jackson,  there  is  no  donbt  but  that  he  could  have  obtained 
highest  reward  in  the  form  of  political  preferment.  Indeed,  it  was 
a  matter  of  wonder  and  remark,  among  his  unsophisticated  constit- 
uents, that  he  remained  without  office.  They  little  thought  that 
their  favorite  was  altogether  thrust  aside  by  the  throng  of  hungry 
ofhce-hunters,  who  assailed  the  President  with  their  importunate 
cries  for  the  spoils  of  victory.  He  was  not  blind  to  the  intrigues 
and  foul  play  going  on  at  the  seat  of  Government,  for  on  his  way 
home  once,  he  met  an  acquaintance  whom  he  mistook  for  one  of 
his  own  political  caste,  and  to  whom  he  said:  "Adams  and  Clay 
were  corrupt,  but  their  corruption  was  child's  play  to  what  is  going 
on  at  Washington  now." — G.  A.  S. 

Weather  Record. 

The  spring  was  early;  peach  trees  in  bloom  on  the  loth  of  April; 
plum  trees  on  the  i8th  ;  flowers  in  the  garden  on  the  i6th;  rye  in 
head  on  the  8th  of  May.  July  13,  the  thermometer  stood  at  ninety- 
six  degrees.  Many  springs  in  the  Valley  gave  out,  and  the  pasture 
burned  up.  July  16,  the  crops  in  Union  county  were  most  extraor- 
dinary. It  was  generally  acknowledged  that  the  yield  was  one 
fourth  more  upon  the  same  quantity  of  ground  than  ever  has  been 
raised  before.  Jonathan  Spyker,  of  Lewisburg,  cut  twenty-three 
dozen  of  wheat  off  thirty-eight  perches.  October  4,  a  comet  visible. 
December  4,  the  first  snow  fell. 


48o  ANNALS   OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1825. 


Various  Items. 

March  29,  a  dinner  at  Jacob  Maize's,  in  Mifflinburg,  to  Honor- 
able George  Kremer.  The  latter  sold  out  his  stock  of  store  goods 
at  Lewisburg  to  Samuel  Roush,  Esquire,  who  removed  it  to  Mifflin- 
burg.  William  Taggert  kept  the  hotel  at  the  Cross-Roads  ;  Valen- 
tine Hahn  and  Roland  Stoughton  at  Lewisburg  ;  John  Hoffman, 
"  The  Rising  Sun,"  at  New  Berlin;  and  Thomas  Crotzer,  "The 
Bull's  Head,"  at  Mifflinburg.  May  18,  George  Kremer,  James 
Merrill,  and  Ner  Middleswarth,  appointed  delegates  to  the  internal 
improvement  convention,  at  Harrisburg.  July  2,  John  Cummings, 
junior,  took  charge  of  the  Union  Times,  succeeded  on  the  ist  of 
October  by  John  A.  Sterrett,  Esquire.  The  candidates  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  for  Assembly  were  Ner  Middleswarth  and  Wil- 
liam Forster,  junior.  On  the  Independent  ticket,  James  Madden 
and  J.  Reifsnyder.  For  a  convention,  1,715  ;  against,  717.  Novem- 
ber I,  Camp  Calhoun  held  at  McEwensville.  The  Lewisburg 
Guards,  commanded  by  Captain  Jackson  McFaddin,  numbering 
forty-five  men,  were  in  camp.  David  and  James  Templeton  left 
New  Berlin  to  establish  a  store  at  Canonsburg.  James  to  study  di- 
vinity there.  David  C.  Ambler  left  Lewisburg.  He  finally  landed  in 
Florida,  where  he  died  in  1867  or  1868.  November  10,  Mr.  Still- 
well  commenced  a  survey  of  the  turnpike,  from  Mifflinburg  to  Belle- 
fonte,  at  Mifflinburg.  James  Wilson  purchased  Captain  William 
Gray's  place. 

In  July,  James  Magee  commenced  boring  for  salt  in  West  Buffalo , 
at  the  place  still  known  as  the  salt  works.  A  stock  company  was 
formed,  Samuel  Roush,  Esquire,  treasurer,  and  an  assessment  of  one 
dollar  per  share  of  "The  Union  Salt  Works"  called  in.  The  opera- 
tors humbugged  the  share-holders  until  their  patience  was  exhausted. 
In  December,  according  to  the  Times,  "  they  had  reached  the  depth 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  striking  on  iwo  veins  of  salt  water  of 
considerable  magnitude.  Should  the  anticipations  be  realized,  Union 
county  will,  ere  long,  be  able  to  supply  its  inhabitants  and  those  of 
the  neighboring  counties  with  the  indispensable  article  of  salt."  [A 
barrel  of  salt  conveyed  in  the  night  to  the  well  saturated  it  well 
enough  to  raise  an  assessment  from  the  stockholders  assembled  the 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  481 

next  day.]  One  good  result,  however,  was  a  stream  of  cold  sulphur 
water,  which  has  refreshed  and  invigorated  thousands  of  people. 

"■A.  man  by  the  name  of  Ephraim  Stephens,  of  White  Deer  town- 
ship, was  brought  to  the  jail  of  this  county.  One  report  says  that 
he  had  formed  the  resolution  of  killing  some  part  of  his  family,  and 
then  putting  an  end  to  his  own  existence,  and  that  he  loaded  his  gun 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  this  resolution  in  execution.  Fortunately, 
one  of  his  sons  caught  him,  and  wrested  the  gun  from  his  hands;  but 
in  the  struggle,  the  gun  accidently  went  off,  and  its  contents  lodged 
in  the  barn,  which  was  filled  with  grain  and  hay,  and  which  was 
totally  consumed." — Times. 

July  22,  James  Young,  of  Kelly  township,  (near  Ephraim  Stean's,) 
was  found  dead,  his  body  in  such  a  state  of  putrefaction,  he  was 
buried  where  he  was  found.  He  had  gone  to  the  mountain  with 
some  of  his  neighbors  to  cut  cooper  poles,  and,  complaining  of  being 
sick,  started  home  and,  no  doubt,  died  from  excessive  heat.  His 
neighbors  searched  for  him  all  night  and  the  succeeding  day,  before 
finding  his  body.  "The  German  Reformed  and  Lutheran  church, 
known  as  'Emanuel  Church,'  at  New  Berlin,  was  dedicated  on  Sun- 
day, July  31,  agreeably  to  the  German  ritual,  in  the  presence  of  a  vast 
concourse  of  people.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Hendel,  of  Berks  county, 
officiated,  assisted  by  Reverend  Messrs.  Shindel,  Smith,  and  Fries. 
The  concourse  of  people  was  numerous,  beyond  all  conception.  The 
building  is  a  handsome  piece  of  architecture.  Christopher  Seebold, 
Esquire,  was  the  contractor,  and  deserves  much  credit  for  the  superb 
manner  in  which  this  building  is  finished,  particularly  the  pulpit, 
which  is  said  to  be  a  correct  model  of  the  one  in  the  German  Re- 
formed church  at  Harrisburg,  and  which  has  been  pronounced  to  be 
inferior  to  none  in  the  State.  On  the  subsequent  Sunday,  dedica- 
tory services  were  held  in  the  English  language,  by  Reverend  Martin 
Bruner,  of  Sunbury,  assisted  by  Reverend  Thomas  Hood." — Times. 

Peculiarities  of  the  Bar,  from  the  Manuscript  of  the  late  James  F. 

Linn,  Esquire. 

"  I  do  think,  and  I  do  say,  gentlemen  of  the  jury." — Lashells. 
"According  to  the  perpendicular  line  of  justice." — Bellas. 
31 


482  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1825. 

"It  is  not  in  the  power  of  mortal  man  to  have  a  particle  of  doubt 
about  it." — Greenovgh. 

"But  this  is  of  no  earthly  consequence,  if  the  Court  please." — 
S.  Hep  b  Km. 

"  Under  the  statoot  of  hoo  and  cry." — Bancraft. 

"  The  gentle,  humane,  and  mild  spirit  which  is  diffused  through 
the  penal  code  of  Pennsylvania." — William  Cox  Ellis. 

"Humph!  the  gentlemen  are  marvelous  witty." — R.  C.  Grier. 

"  Yes,  stop — well,  let  us  see — stop  there — come,  let  us  have  it 
down  in  writing." — Frick. 

"There  is  no  evidence  in  the  wide  world  to  support  it." — Van 
Horn. 

"  It  is  no  such  matter." — Donnel. 

•'  I  fancy." — -Jordan. 

"Hum!  the  big  man  gets  up,  and  the  little  man  gets  up,  and 
they  try  to  carry  their  cause  by  a  kind  of  mechanical  operation." — 
Marr. 

"  The  creditors  of  the  time  of  this  transaction  had  no  existence." — 
H.  D.  Ellis. 

Showman  at  New  Berlin  again. 

The  evil  star  of  last  year's  showman  brought  him  to  New  Berlin 
again.     The  place  seemed  charged  to  the  full  with  ill-luck  for  him. 

My  young  friend,  B ,  having  ascertained  that  he  was  to  perform 

in  a  room  on  the  ground-floor  of  Grier's  tavern,  went  to  a  window 
of  the  room,  soon  after  the  performance  commenced,  and  having 
silently  raised  the  sash  about  one  inch^  introduced  the  nose  of  a 
large  syringe  filled  with  a  most  abominable  compound  of  filth.  He 
had  not  waited  long  before  the  performer,  standing  upon  the  rope, 
presented  a  full  front,  within  point  blank  distance ;  then  the  fra- 
grant liquid  was  squirted  over  his  magnificent  person.  Grier,  who 
sat,  in  the  capacity  of  fiddler,  in  a  line  with  the  discharge,  had  his 
hair  perfumed  by  the  falling  of  divers  odoriferous  drops  from  the 
hissing  current.  Down  leaped  the  rope-dancer,  and  up  leaped 
Grier  ;  the  former  ran  out  to  plunge  his  head  and  body  into  a  rain- 
barrel  ;  the  latter,  foaming  with  wrath,  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on 
the  offender,  whom,  however,  he  could  not  find.     The  showman 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  483 

swore  he  never  would  set  foot  in  New  Berlin  again,  and  he  kept  his 
oath. 

A  very  remarkable  meteor  appeared  during  this  summer.  I  was 
standing  in  the  prothonotary's  office  in  New  Berlin,  when  I  heard, 
as  I  imagined,  some  one  fall  heavily  upon  the  floor  of  the  room  above 
me.  Knowing  that  the  room  was  unoccupied,  I  had  the  curiosity  to 
go  and  look  in,  but  found  no  one  there.  On  my  return  to  my  house, 
I  mentioned  the  matter  to  my  wife,  who  said  she  had  heard  a  simi- 
lar sound,  and  I  soon  discovered  that  all  my  neighbors  had  been 
deceived  in  a  similar  manner.  Those  who  were  in  the  open  air 
when  they  heard  the  sound,  said  the  ground  trembled  under  their 
feet,  and  horses  were  observed  to  start  and  crouch  as  when  a  bridge 
cracks  under  their  feet.  It  appeared  afterwards  that  the  explosion 
had  accompanied  the  appearance  of  a  meteor,  and  had  been  heard 
at  Bellefonte  and  Lewistown,  on  the  Juniata,  and  at  Sunbury  and 
Liverpool,  on  the  Susquehanna.  The  flight  of  the  fiery  ball  was  dis- 
tinctly seen  by  the  workmen  on  the  Juniata,  and  at  Liverpool.  I 
was  told  a  fiery  body  was  seen  to  fall  apparently  on  the  north  side 
of  Peter's  mountain. 

Temperance  associations  began  to  be  formed  in  the  Valley  in  this 
year.  Those  connected  therewith  bound  themselves  to  use  no  intox- 
icating liquor,  except  in  such  cases  as  required  their  use  as  medicines, 
and  to  discontinue  the  custom  of  offering  strong  drink  to  visitors. 
The  latter  practice  had  been  so  common  that  to  omit  it  was  con- 
sidered a  breach  of  politeness.  Every  one  knows  with  what  a  whirl- 
wind force  public  opinion  in  America,  when  once  excited,  bears 
down  everything  before  it,  and  here  was  an  illustration  of  its  power. 

After  three  or  four  years,  it  became  rare  to  offer  liquors  to  visitors, 
and  common  to  hear  a  person  refuse  to  drink,  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  a  temperance  man.  A  respectable  inn-keeper  in  Sunbury 
told  me,  about  three  years  after  this,  that  the  sale  of  liquor  at  his 
bar,  to  travelers,  had  been  diminished  by  not  less  than  one  half, 
under  the  influence  of  the  temperance  societies.  The  first  temper- 
ance societies  allowed  the  use  of  wines,  on  the  ground  that  those 
who  limited  themselves  to  these  would  not  get  drunk  on  so  expens- 
ive an  article. 


484  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1825. 


Witchcraft  Farce.  w^ 


During  this  year  a  remarkable  farce  of  witchcraft  was  played  in 
the  family  of  a  man  named  Kern,  in  Beaver  township.  He  had  a 
wife  and  two  daughters,  and  followed  the  occupation  of  farming.  In 
his  immediate  vicinity  lived  a  man  named  Romig,  who,  from  some 
unknown  cause,  became  a  hypochondriac,  and  the  impression  got 
abroad  that  he  was  bewitched.  Soon  after  this  the  milk  in  Kern's 
spring-house  became  sour,  within  a  few  hours  after  it  was  placed 
there.  This  occurred  daily,  until  the  farce  was  concluded,  which  was 
in  two  or  three  weeks.  The  next  act  played  was  of  a  more  remark- 
able character.  Kern's  tables  and  kitchen  furniture  were  to  be  seen 
flying  in  all  directions,  thrown,  it  was  supposed,  by  supernatural 
means.  Knives,  forks,  spoons,  ladles,  &c.,  never  remained  more 
than  five  minutes  on  the  dresser,  after  having  been  placed  there,  but 
were  thrown  in  various  directions  about  the  house  ;  and,  as  the  more 
BELIEVING  portion  of  the  neighbors  asserted,  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  to  see  them  thrown  through  the  solid  wall  of  the  house,  with- 
out leaving  any  mark  of  their  passage  in  the  wall !  A  peddler,  who 
stopped  for  the  purpose  of  trading  some  of  his  notions  to  Kern,  as- 
serted that  he  had  not  been  in  the  house  ten  minutes  before  his  hat 
and  dog  were  thrown  through  the  wall  of  the  kitchen,  into  the  adjoin- 
ing yard.  It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  he  was  influenced  in  propa- 
gating this  story  by  the  hope  of  assembling  a  crowd  around  his  wagon. 

During  these  transactions,  Kern  had  a  numerous  crowd  daily  at 
his  house,  and  on  Sundays  there  was  a  gathering  at  his  door,  such  as 
the  most  eloquent  divine  would  have  failed  to  assemble.  Of  these, 
the  major  part  came  prepared  to  believe  all  they  saw,  and  all  they 
might  hear.  Of  course,  there  was  no  lack  of  true  stories.  The  un- 
believing portion  of  the  visitors — a  very  small  number,  for  men  of 
SENSE  generally  staid  at  home — kept  their  eyes  open,  and  readily 
discovered  that  the  old  woman  and  the  daughters  were  the  witches, 
and  threw  the  knives,  forks,  &c.  A  witch  doctor  was  called,  who 
proceeded,  with  great  solemnity,  to  expel  the  evil  spirit.  Divers 
magical  and  mysterious  rites  were  performed,  exorcisms  were  chanted, 
and  texts  of  Scripture  nailed  to  every  door  and  window  in  the  house. 
The  witches,  however,  set  the  doctor  at  naught,  and  baffled  all  his 
schemes.     At  length  a  party  of  young  men,  residing  in  New  Berlin, 


1825.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  485 

resolved  to  try  their  skill  at  taking  evil  spirits.  One  of  them,  having 
procured  a  mask,  a  huge  flaxen-wig,  a  pair  of  furred  gloves,  and 
other  necessary  apparatus,  set  out  with  the  rest,  in  the  afternoon, 
and  arrived  at  Kern's  early  in  the  evening.  At  their  request,  the 
witches  performed,  to  their  great  satisfaction,  until  a  late  hour.  At 
length,  when  all  the  visitors,  except  the  young  witch  doctors,  had  left 
the  house,  it  was  resolved  to  commence  operations.  They  desired 
to  see  how  the  witches  acted  above  stairs,  and  were  accordingly  con- 
ducted up  the  ladder,  accompanied  by  the  whole  family.  In  the 
meantime,  one  of  the  party,  who  had  a  remarkably  hoarse  and  deep- 
toned  voice,  and  who  was  to  act  the  part  of  the  devil,  was  notified 
by  a  preconcerted  signal — for  he  had  not  entered  the  house — to  pre- 
pare for  action.  He  accordingly  put  on  his  wig  and  mask,  which 
he  rubbed  with  phosphorus,  and  wrapped  himself  in  a  buffalo-skin. 
The  party  up  stairs  were  well  provided  with  squibs.  One  of  them 
had  a  piece  of  phosphorus,  with  which  he  wrote  on  the  wall  such 
words  as  "devil,"  "hell,"  &c.,  in  a  number  of  places.  The  sig- 
nal being  given,  the  candle  was  extinguished,  the  squibs  distributed 
most  copiously,  and  the  horrid  words  on  the  wall  shone  out  in  liquid 
fire.  The  barrels  and  furniture  in  the  room  were  trundled  about  the 
floor,  and  an  astounding  uproar  was  kept  up  for  some  minutes.  Pres- 
ently a  terrific  roar  was  heard  from  below.  All  parties  ran  to  the 
stair-door,  and  saw,  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  his  grim  majesty,  in 
all  the  terrors  of  flames,  flax,  fur,  and  horns.  Satan  made  an  appro- 
priate speech  on  the  occasion,  and  then  retired.  His  address  was 
followed  by  a  most  edifying  exhortation,  by  the  wag  of  the  party,  on 
the  sin  of  deceiving,  and  the  danger  of  another  visit  from  old  Nick, 
if  the  present  practices  should  be  persisted  in.  The  terrified  witches 
made  a  full  confession,  and  so  ended  the  enchantment. —  G.  A, 
Snyder. 

Marriages. 

January  18,  by  Reverend  J.  W.  Smith,  Hezekiah  Aiiiberg,  of 
New  Berlin,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Brooks.  February  10,  by  Reverend 
T.  Hood,  David  Nesbit  to  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  Jacob  Musser. 
February  24,  by  Reverend  Patterson,  Thomas  Candor,  of  Kelly,  to 
Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Montgomery.  March  15,  James  Dun- 
can, of  Aaronsburg,  to  Mrs.  Sophia  Maxwell,  of  New  Berlin.    April 


486  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1825. 

7,  by  Reverend  Fries,  John  Orwig,  of  Mififlinburg,  to  Miss  Maria 
Briglit.  April  28,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  John  Linn  to  Mary  F. 
Chamberlin.  May  5,  by  Reverend  Heim,  Daniel  Ludwig  to  Miss 
Sarah  Hoffman.  May  6,  by  Reverend  John  Dreisbach,  Robert  P. 
Maclay,  of  East  Buffalo,  to  Miss  Margaret  C.  Lashells,  of  New  Ber- 
lin. May  20,  Henry  B.  Mussena  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Winter,  of  New 
Berlin.  June  5,  by  Reverend  Fries,  Mathias  Benner  to  Elizabeth 
Overmyer,  of  New  Berlin.  October  6,  by  Reverend  Fries,  Daniel 
Apple  to  Miss  Susan  Orwig,  of  Mififiinburg.  October  9,  John  Maize 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Jones,  of  Mifflinburg.  October  13,  Mr.  Straw- 
bridge,  of  Columbia  county,  to  Miss  Louisa,  daughter  of  Charles 
Maus,  Esquire.  November  2,  by  Reverend  Heim,  Jonathan  Wetzel 
to  Miss  Hettie  Hoff,  of  Union.  November  3,  by  Reverend  J.  H. 
Fries,  Jacob  G.  Chestney,  of  Mifflinburg.  to  Juliana,  daughter  of 
John  Cummings,  Esquire,  of  Hartley.  November  3,  by  James  Mc- 
Clellan,  Esquire,  Daniel  Mook  to  Miss  Mary  Dieffenbach.  Novem- 
ber 20,  David  Mauck  to  Miss  Nancy  Shriner.  December  22,  by 
Reverend  Stewart,  William  Kelly,  of  Union,  to  Miss  Margaret  Alli- 
son, of  Centre.  December  26,  John  Row  to  Miss  Rachel  Kunkle, 
of  Dry  Valley.       • 


1836. 


Lottery  Advertisements — Fourth  of  July  Celebration — Murder  of 
Jacob  Swineford — Weather  Record — Bishop  Newcomer's  Death — 
Political — Obituary. 

lANUARY  7,  prices  current  in  Philadelphia:  Wheat, 
ninety  cents;  rye,  fifty-eight;  corn,  sixty-two;  whisky, 
twenty-six.  Samuel  Baum,  postmaster  at  New  Berlin, 
in  April;  Alexander  Graham,  at  Lewisburg;  Jacob 
Maize,  at  Mifflinburg.  February  13,  the  coldest  day  of  the  year. 
The  Democratic-Republican  convention  met  at  New  Berlin.  Robert 
Taylor,  president ;  John  Bossier,  secretary ;  William  Forster  and 
Henry  C.  Eyer  were  appointed  delegates  to  the  State  convention,  with 
instructions  to  support  the  re-nomination  of  Governor  Shulze.  Feb- 
ruary 18,  Judge  Seth'Chapman,  who  was  impeached  for  misdemeanors 
in  office,  was  acquitted  by  the  Senate,  twenty-six  Senators  voting 
not  guilty,  five  voting  guilty.  March  13,  James  F.  Linn  admitted 
to  the  bar.  April  10,  the  turnpike  company  incorporated  to  make 
a  road  from  the  end  of  the  Lewisburg  bridge  to  Mifflinburg.  Com- 
missioners, William  Hayes,  James  Geddes,  Jacob  Maize,  Henry 
Roush,  and  James  Duncan. 

Lottery  advertisements  fill  the  county  papers  this  year.  John  A. 
Sterrett  was  agent  for  the  Union  Canal  lottery,  at  New  Berlin,  and 
James  Appleton,  at  Mifflinburg.  New  Berlin  lottery,  by  Peter  Smith. 
In  Mifflinburg,  one  by  John  and  Henry  Orwig  ;  James  Cummings, 
Samuel  Roush,  John  Ray,  James  Appleton,  George  Bogar,  and 
Conrad  Grove,  managers.  William  Wolfinger  advertises  the  Selins- 
grove  lottery.     Andrew  Reedy,  one  at  William  Taggert's,  Buffalo 

487 


488  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1826. 

Cross-Roads.  Two  prizes  of  $3,000,  one  of  ^2,000.  Severe  drouth 
which  continued  until  the  23d  of  June,  when  it  rained  so  excessively 
as  to  spoil  much  hay.^  28th,  a  great  freshet  on  the  river.  The  old 
market  house,  on  Market  street,  in  Lewisburg,  taken  down.  4th  of 
July  celebrated  at  New  Berlin.  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries  delivered  a 
discourse  from  Psalm  Ixxxv :  10  and  11  verses;  Charles  A.  Brad- 
ford, Esquire,  an  oration.  The  singing  was  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Hickok.  After  which  the  company  repaired  to  Gross'  spring, 
where  Mr.  Eilert  had  prepared  a  dinner.  Abbot  Green  was  then 
made  chairman,  George  A.  Snyder,  secretary,  and  a  number  of 
toasts  were  read. 

Murder  of  Jacob  Swineford. 

Jacob  Swineford,  Esquire,  of  Middleburg,  in  this  county,  was 
murdered  on  the  night  of  the  4th  of  July,  in  Lebanon.  The  facts, 
as  far  as  we  can  learn  from  a  German  paper  published  in  that  place, 
are  as  follows :  Swineford  and  his  son  had  been,  for  some  days  pre- 
vious to  the  4th,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lebanon,  with  a  drove  of  sheep, 
consisting  of  about  three  hundred  and  eighty,  which  he  had  disposed 
of,  except  about  fifty,  with  which  he  arrived  in  Lebanon  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th,  where  he  spent  the  day.  In  the  evening  he 
met  with  a  Mr.  Greenawalt,  an  old  acquaintance,  at  the  tavern  of  a 
Mr.  Williams,  where  they  drank  together,  after  which  Swineford 
asked  Greenawalt  to  walk  with  him.  They  went,  and  when  they 
came  to  an  alley  in  Hill  street,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  three 
men,  by  one  of  whom  Greenawalt  was  knocked  down  twice,  but 
succeeded  in  making  a  retreat,  calling  to  Swineford  to  run  also. 
Immediately  afterwards,  some  boys,  while  passing,  discovered  some 
one  lying  on  the  ground.  Light  was  immediately  brought,  and  it 
was  found  to  be  Swineford,  who  was  then  in  the  sgonies  of  death, 
and  expired  immediately  afterwards.  He  had  received  two  blows 
on  his  head,  which  occasioned  his  death.    The  deceased  is  supposed 

'  At  this  time  a  farmer  in  AVest  Buffalo  made  several  attempts  to  haul  in  his  ha}', 
only  to  be  disappointed  by  sudden  showers.  Finally  he  had  a  load  within  a  short 
distance  ol'liis  barn,  when  a  terrible  storm  came  on.  In  his  wrath,  he  swore  he  would 
have  KOiiiii  hay  in  dry  at  any  rate,  and  grabbinn;  from  the  wagon  as  much  as  he  could 
carry  in  his  arms,  he  ran  for  the  barn.  Unfortunately  for  him,  the  creek  intervened, 
and  as  he  was  running  with  all  his  might,  his  foot  slipped  at  tlie  middle  of  the  foot 
log.  and  he  plunged,  with  his  hay,  into  the  stream. 


1826.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  489 

to  have  had  between  $400  and  $500,  in  a  large  pocket-book,  which 
was  missing.  About  S80  in  a  small  pocket-book  was  found  about 
his  person.  Two  men  were  arrested  on  suspicion  of  having  com- 
mitted the  crime,  but  were  afterwards  discharged.  The  deceased 
has  left  a  wife  and  six  children  to  mourn  his  untimely  end. — Times, 
July  14. 

In  August  it  became  very  sultry,  with  no  rain.  Dust  followed  the 
plow,  and  a  great  deal  of  sickness  prevailed  in  the  Valley.  In  Sep- 
tember, fever  and  ague  prevailed  extensively.  In  December,  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  snow  and  good  sleighing,  and  the  river  was  fro- 
zen, and  crossed  by  sleds.  The  first  snow  fell  on  the  4th  of  Novem- 
ber. 

September  28,  Bishop  Newcomer  visited  the  Valley  for  the  last 
time,  on  his  return  from  a  trip  into  Canada,  staying  at  Martin  and 
John  Dreisbach's.  He  died  at  his  own  home,  in  Hagerstown,  on 
1 2th  March,  1830,  aged  eighty-one.  "  Long  will  he  be  remembered 
by  thousands.  Many,  very  many,  souls  will,  at  the  great  day,  own 
him  as  the  instrument,  in  the  hand  of  God,  by  which  they  have  been 
turned  from  the  error  of  their  ways,  and  have  been  brought  from 
darkness  to  light." 

Utica  for  girl's  name  having  become  quite  common,  it  is,  perhaps, 
proper  to  state  its  origin.  In  this  year,  Captain  John  Snyder  went  on 
a  visit  to  New  York,  taking  with  his  newly-married  wife,  Margaret. 
Having  a  race-horse  with  him,  he  was  lucky  enough  to  win  a  match 
at  Utica,  in  memory  of  which  he  named  his  daughter,  born  within 
the  year,  Utica;  and  the  name,  through  mere  fancy  or  personal  liking, 
became  quite  the  rage. 

Political. 

September,  Democratic  convention  at  New  Berlin,  Michael  Rath- 
fon,  chairman  ;  Samuel  Aurand,  secretary.  William  Forster,  junior, 
and  George  Aurand  nominated  for  Assembly;  Elias  P.  Youngman 
for  commissioner  ;  Andrew  McClenachan  and  William  Kessler,  sen- 
atorial conferees,  with  instructions  to  support  Ner  Middleswarth  for 
Senator,  and  indorsed  the  nomination  of  Governor  Shulze. 

At  a  county  meeting,  held  on  the  20th,  Frederick  Gutelius,  chair- 
man, Dan  Caldwell  and  John  Montelius,  secretaries,  John  Ray  was 


4()0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1826. 

nominated  for  Senator  ;  James  Madden  and  Robert  Willet  for  As- 
sembly: John  Montelius,  commissioner;  Conrad  Grove,  James  K. 
Davis,  Oiiid  Simon  Shaffer,  standing  committee. 

The  congressional  conference  met  at  the  house  of  William  A.  Pet- 
riken,  in  Pennsborough.  Henry  Yearick  and  Jacob  Hummel,  con- 
ferees. George  Kremer,  Samuel  McKean,  and  Espy  Van  Horn 
nominated  for  Congress. 

25th  September,  a  senatorial  conference  met  at  Randall  Wilcox's, 
in  Lewisburg,  and  John  Ray  was  nominated  as  a  canal  man. 

Governor  Shulze  had  no  opposition  in  the  county,  receiving  1062 
votes,  nor  had  Van  Horn,  McKean,  and  Kremer.  For  Senate, 
John  Ray  received  929  votes;   Middleswarth,  785. 

Marriages. 

2d  February,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  John  Chamberlin  to  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  William  Hayes,  of  Lewisburg.  21st  February, 
James  Caldwell,  of  Lewisburg,  to  Isabella,  daughter  of  James  Dun- 
can, of  Centre  county,  nth  April,  Jonathan  Reedy  to  Miss  Amelia 
Buchner.  July  20,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire, 
of  Lewisburg,  to  Miss  Margaret,  daughter  of  Hugh  Wilson,  of  Buf- 
falo township.  17th  August,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  Thomas  Grier 
to  Mrs.  Rachel  Stratton,  of  New  Berlui.  \n  New  York,  by  Reverend 
Doctor  Roberts,  John  Snyder  to  Miss  Margaret  Hammond.  31st 
October,  John  Devling  to  Mary  Wilson,  daughter  of  Judge  Hugh 
Wilson.  19th  October,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  James  Merrill, 
Esquire,  of  New  Berlin,  to  Miss  Sarah  Hepburn,  of  Northumberland. 
22d  October,  by  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries,  Jesse  Mauck,  of  New  Berlin, 
to  Miss  Catherine  Crotzer,  of  Mifflinburg.  November  14,  by  John 
Nesbit,  Esquire,  William  Alsbach  to  Catherine  Shively.  December 
26,  by  Reverend  John  Dreisbach,  John  Yost,  of  New  Berlin,  to  Miss 
Sarah  Shaffer,  of  Buffalo. 

Obituary. 

Samuel  Templeton  died  at  his  residence,  near  New  Berlin,  on  Sat- 
urday, February  18,  aged  seventy-two.  He  was  born  in  Ireland, 
and  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  has  since  then 
resided  in  this  neighborhood.     He  has  been  for  many  years  an  elder 


1827.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  491 

in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and,  by  an  exemplary  life,  gave  evidence 
that  his  profession  of  religion  was  sincere.  He  departed,  after  a  long 
and  distressing  illness,  in  full  possession  of  his  mental  faculties,  and 
relying  on  the  mercy  of  God,  through  the  merits  of  our  Redeemer, 
for  salvation.  His  children  were :  Alexander,  David,  Reverend 
James,  Ann,  and  Nancy,  married  to  Doctor  Charlton. 

On  Monday  morning,  February  20,  after  a  lingering  illness  of 
several  months,  John  Mumma,  Esquire,  aged  twenty-eight.  His 
remains  were  interred  with  masonic  honors  on  Tuesday  last. 

At  her  residence,  in  Centre  township,  February  20,  Mrs.  Mary 
Wales,  consort  of  James  Wales. — Times,  February  25. 


i8^y. 


Canal    Meeting — -Debating    Societies — Mifflinburg    Academy    Estab- 
lished— Borough  of  Mifflinburg  Incorporated. 

LOUR  in  Philadelphia,  in  January,  56  per  barrel.  The 
newspapers  note  the  winter  of  1826-27  as  the  coldest 
since  1782.  February  16,  a  public  debate  between  the 
Lewisburg  Debating  Society  and  the  Mifflinburg  Debat- 
ing Society  took  place  at  William  Taggert's  tavern,  at  the  Cross- 
Roads.  George  A.  Snyder,  the  president,  awarded  the  victory  to  the 
Mifflinburg  society.  A  little  newspaper  war  between  the  societies 
resulted.  William  Cameron,  Esquire,  president  of  the  Lewisburg 
society,  and  Doctor  William  Joyce,  secretary,  cudgel  the  Mifflinburg 
society  in  a  pretty  lively  way,  in  the  Times. 

February  20,  a  meeting  in  favor  of  canals  was  held  at  Lewisburg, 
president,  Andrew  McClenachan ;  secretary,  James  Dale;  committee 
on  resolutions,  Dan  Caldwell,  Doctor  Thomas  Vanvalzah,  and  Wil- 
liam Haves. 


4g2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1827. 

April  2,  Honorable  George  Kremer  moved  from  Lewisburg  to 
the  Stees  place,  adjoining  Middleburg,  and  Joseph  Hutchinson 
opened  store  in  the  Kremer  building.  Under  the  act  erecting  cir- 
cuit courts,  Judge  Molten  C.  Rogers  held  the  first  circuit  court  in 
New  Berlin,  on  the  9th  of  April.  On  the  loth,  Peter  Gearhart 
was  put  on  trial  for  murder ;  Bellas  and  Bradford  for  the  Common- 
wealth, Lashells  and  Maus  for  the  defendant.  (May  16,  George  A. 
Snyder  remarks :  "  Took  Judge  Chapman  two  and  one  half  days  to 
try  Henry  Frock  for  stealing  walnuts,  while  Judge  Rogers,  in  April, 
tried  a  murder  case,  two  fornication  and  adultery  cases,  in  three 
days.") 

14th  April,  act  establishing  the  Mifflinburg  academy. — Pa?nphlet 
Laws,  322.  Henry  Yearick,  James  Appleton,  Jacob  Maize,  James 
Merrill,  John  Forster,  Joseph  Musser,  Michael  Roush,  Thomas  Van- 
valzah,  and  John  F.  Wilson,  trustees.  Three  trustees  to  be  elected 
annually  by  the  people  of  the  county. 

April  13,  the  borough  of  Selinsgrove  incorporated. — Pamphlet 
Laws,  2 78.  14th  April,  the  borough  of  Mifflinburg  incorporated, 
by  the  following  boundaries  :  Beginning  at  a  post  on  line  of  the 
heirs  of  Jacob  Brobst,  N.  2°  W.  362  ;  thence  along  line  of  the 
heirs  of  George  Rote,  deceased,  N.  76°  E.  118;  by  the  same,  S.  2° 
E.  145  ;  thence,  N.  88°  E.  120,  to  a  post  in  the  center  of  the  road 
leading  from  George  Rockey's  to  Mifflinburg  ;  thence  along  the 
center  thereof,  S.  2°  E.,  in  a  line  between  Michael  Bartges,  John 
Charles,  Conrad  Mull,  et  al.,  210;  thence  along  the  north  side  of 
Limestone  hill,  S.  88°  W.  240,  to  beginning. — Pamphlet  Laws,  305. 
These  boundaries  embrace  the  whole  of  Ensign  Meen's,  the  south 
half  of  Ensign  Forster's,  and  part  of  the  Elias  Younkman  warrantees. 

July  30,  John  Musser's  (Kelly  township)  still  bursted,  and  scalded 
himself,  James  Wilson,  and  the  stiller.  They  applied  to  Jonathan 
Spyker  to  "  hex"  the  fire  out  of  them. 

August  2,  William  Hayes'  store  robbed  of  $100.  The  taker  con- 
fessed, and  Mr.  Hayes  let  him  off.  Some  few  years  since  a  person 
from  Lewisburg  stopped  over  night  at  a  farm-house  in  Ohio,  and 
recognized  in  the  owner  of  the  fine  farm  the  penitent  subject  of  Mr. 
Hayes'  clemency. 

August  25,  Lafayette  Lodge,  New  Berlin,  appropriated  S40  to  the 
Greek  fund,  "  to  be  applied  in  accelerating  the  cause  of  liberty  in 


1827.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  493 

Greece,"  and  James  Aiken  returned  to  Lewisburg,  after  an  absence 
of  two  years.  Doctor  E.  Appleton,  of  New  Berlin,  made  a  great 
sensation  about  a  recipe  he  had  made  for  curing  drunkenness.  It 
had  a  great  run  for  awhile,  but  proved  of  no  account. 

loth  September,  Peter  Nevius,  constable,  took  charge  of  a  party 
of  town  boys  convicted  of  an  affray  at  Peak's,  to  convey  them  to 
jail  at  New  Berlin.  On  the  Shamokin  hill  he  pretended  something 
was  wrong  with  the  harness,  and  got  out  to  fix  it.  The  boys  saw 
their  opportunity,  and  ran  off.  As  some  of  them  became  prominent 
citizens,  remarkable  for  good  works,  it  is  not  worth  while  to  say  who 
they  were. 

9th  October,  John  Dreisbach,  Ner  Middleswarth,  Jackson  men, 
elected  to  the  Assembly,  over  James  Madden  and  R.  P.  Maclay. 
14th,  masonic  procession  at  New  Berlin.  Sixty-seven  appeared  in 
regalia.  Reverend  Fries  and  James  Merrill,  Esquire,  addressed 
them,  nth  November,  John  Sheckler's  barn  burned  ;  fired  by  his 
aunt,  who  is  deranged.  21st  November,  snow  storm,  ground  cov- 
ered.    December  4,  Ner  Middleswarth  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House. 

Marriages. 

February  13,  John  Yarger  to  Miss  Margaret  Kelly,  of  Hartley, 
by  Samuel  Haupt,  Esquire.  April  19,  Thomas  Wilson,  of  Kelly, 
to  Mrs.  Drake.  May  10,  John  Housel  to  Margaret  Musser,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob,  Esquire.  June  5,  Saul  McCormick  to  Catherine, 
daughter  of  Reverend  Thomas  Hood.  August  30,  John  Magee  to 
Susan  Struble. 

Deaths. 

Thomas  Shipton,  Esquire,  died  in  Middleburg,  February  4,  aged 
seventy-four  years.  He  officiated  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  upwards 
of  thirty  years,  and  was  very  highly  esteemed. 

Honorable  John  Macpherson  died  on  the  2d  of  August,  at  his 
residence,  near  Winfield.  He  served  in  the  navy  of  the  Revolution, 
was  badly  wounded,  and,  on  that  account,  received  a  pension  from 
the  State.  He  was  associate  judge  of  Northumberland  county  for 
twenty-three  years. 


4^4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1828. 

September  26,  Mrs.  Conrad  Foutz,  aged  eighty-eight,  mother  of 
Mrs.  Charles  Cameron,  was  buried  at  Lewisburg.  Her  husband  was 
one  of  the  rangers  who,  with  the  Groves  and  Samuel  Brady,  were  a 
great  terror  to  the  Indians.  Conrad  Foutz's  grandson,  General 
Simon  Cameron,  was  Secretary  of  War  under  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  his  great-grandson,  J.  D.  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War  under 
General  Grant. 


18:^8. 


List   of    Attorxeys — Canal    Lo:!ated — Lewisburg    and    Mifflinburg 
Turnpike  Located. 

ANUARY  5,  Frederick  Evans  and  Robert  P.  Maclay, 
delegates  to  the  State  convention  which  nominated  An- 
drew Jackson  for  President. 

List  of  attorneys  attending  February  court.  Union 
county:  James  Merrill,  John  Lashells,  John  A.  Sterrett,  John  Wyeth, 
Charles  Maus,  Jacob  H.  Horning,  and  James  F.  Linn ;  from  Northum- 
berland county,  Hugh  Bellas,  Ebenezer  Greenough,  Alexander  Jor- 
dan, Charles  G.  Donnel,  Samuel  J.  Packer,  and  Samuel  Hepburn; 
Lycoming,  William  Cox  Ellis,  James  Armstrong,  and  Robert  Flem- 
ing ;  Schuylkill,  Charles  A.  Bradford,  Esquire. 

There  was  not  snow  sufficient  for  sleighing  during  the  entire  win- 
ter, and  arks  passed  down  the  river  as  early  as  the  loth  of  February. 
2 2d  March,  public  debate  at  Lewisburg  on  the  question:  "Will 
the  present  Government  of  the  United  States  decline  and  fall?" 
Affirmative,  Isaac  Slenker,  J.  F.  Linn,  and  Jackson  McFadden ; 
negative,  James  Aiken,  Doctor  William  Joyce,  and  William  Nesbit, 
Esquire;  presiding  judge.  Reverend  George  Richmond;  associates. 
Doctor  Thomas  Vanvalzah,  John  Vandyke,  Frederick  Pontius,  T. 
R.  Lewis,  Joiui   Machemer,  and  John   H.   Hickok.     People  from 


1828.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  4gs 


New  Berlin,  Milton,  and  all  the  Valley  attended.  A  majority  of  the 
judges  decided  for  the  negative,  Vanvalzah  and  Lewis  dissenting. 
The  debate  was  continued  all  the  afternoon  and  evening.  26th, 
news  arrived  that  grain  had  fallen  rapidly  at  Baltimore.  All  the 
merchants  lost  heavily.  Worth  only  sixty  five  cents.  Hayes  settled 
with  his  customers  at  seventy-two  cents  per  bushel. 

Sunday,  13th  April,  north-east  snow  storm  prevailed.  Laird 
Howard,  Francis  Wilson,  and  James  F.  Linn,  only,  put  in  appear- 
ance at  Buffalo  church.  Mr.  Hood  thought  it  not  worth  while  to 
preach  to  three  men.  This  snow  storm  did  a  great  deal  of  damage 
to  fruit.  30th,  Judge  Rawle,  Robert  Fanes,  and  William  Wilson, 
engineers  to  locate  the  canal,  arrived  at  Lewisburg ;  Rothrock, 
draftsman  ;  Paul  Geddes  and  Joseph  Green,  chain-carriers. 

^May  13,  Isaac  Slenker  admitted  to  the  bar.  Judge  Chapman 
remarked  that  he  passed  the  best  examination  had  before  him  in 
five  years. 

July  13,  Elijah  Bacon  made  his  appearance,  and  preached  in  the 
Union  church. 

August  28,  Messrs.  Hayes,  Caldwell,  Cameron,  Joyce,  and  Van- 
valzah, who  were  representing  the  interests  of  the  west  side,  returned 
from  Harrisburg,  and  reported  that  the  canal  would  be  located  on 
the  east  side ;  Rawle  estimating  that  the  west  side  would  cost  ^340,000 
more.  Our  people,  however,  believed  it  the  result  of  intrigue  and 
good  management. 

September  1 1 ,  James  F.  Linn  surveyed  a  route  for  the  turnpike  be- 
tween Lewisburg  and  Mifflinburg.  Alexander  Graham,  James  Ged- 
des, William  Wilson,  William  and  Daniel  Cameron,  Jackson  McFad- 
din,  Robert  Hayes,  John  Reber  and,  Thomas  McGuire,  went  along 
all  the  way.  Started  at  eight,  and  reached  Mifflinburg  half-pa,st 
four,  where  Joseph  Musser  and  John  Machemer  met  the  party  with 
wagons,  and  took  them  back.  Straight  course  between  the  two 
places,  S.  71°  39'  W.,  distance,  eight  miles  thirty-four  perches. 
12th,  the  mill,  house,  and  barn,  late  Adam  Wagoner's,  on  Rapid 
run,  (now  Cowan,)  belonging  to  Jacob  Baker's  heirs,  burned  at  one 
o'clock  last  night.     Family  escaped  with  difficulty.     This  was  the 

'Honorable  Isaac  Slenker  studied  law  with  the  late  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire. 
In  1862  he  was  elected  Auditor  General,  and  served  from  May  4, 1863,  to  May  1,  1866. 
He  died  at  New  Berlin,  April  17,  1873,  aged  seventy-three  years. 


4gb  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1828. 

second  time  the  mill  was  burned  in  Wagoner's  time,  having  been 
burned  once  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago.  Supposed  to  be  the  work 
of  an  incendiary. 

October  i ,  West  Branch  division  of  the  canal  let  at  Milton ;  and  a 
horse-race  between  Petriken's  gray  and  Doctor  Getz's  mare.  The 
gray  led  three  or  four  lengths  ;  stakes,  $400. 

September  28,  Isaac  Bockener,  who  lived  on  Colonel  Ruhl's  place, 
died  from  the  effects  of  an  injury  received  at  David  Linn's  clover- 
mill.  The  water-wheel  caught  his  leg,  stripped  the  flesh  off,  and 
gangrene  set  in.     This  mill  was  "erected  during  this  summer. 

October  31,  presidential  election.  Jackson  electors  had  eighty- 
seven,  Adams  six  votes,  in  Lewisburg. 

November  4,  Subscription  to  the  turnpike  completed.  Wheat 
rose  to  $1  25.  29th,  the  committee  met  to  draft  a  petition  for  a 
cross-cut  canal  to  Lewisburg :  William  Hayes,  James  Geddes,  Wil- 
liam Wilson,  Doctor  Joyce,  and  James  F.  Linn. 

December  22,  James  F.  Linn  commenced  surveying  the  turnpike. 
29th,  he  commenced  locating,  and  got  as  far  as  James  Harris'.  Fin- 
ished on  the  30th. 

Marriages. 

3d  January,  William  Miller,  of  New  Berlin,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Myers.  January  16,  by  Mr.  Hood,  Jacob  Derr  to  Isabella  Hunter. 
13th  March,  John  Haus,  late  deputy  sheriff,  to  Margaret  Roush,  of 
Mifflinburg.  April  8,  Mrs.  Abigail  Iddings,  widow  of  Isaac,  married 
to  old  Mr.  Mackey,  by  James  McClellan,  Esquire.  28th  May,  by 
Reverend  Richmond,  Abner  Metzgar  to  Eleanor  Lawshe.  Novem- 
ber 6,  by  Reverend  T.  Hood,  Hugh  McLaughlin  to  Frances,  daugh- 
ter of  George  Derr.  nth,  by  same,  John  Forster,  to  Margaret, 
youngest  daughter  of  Doctor  Robert  Vanvalzah.  20th,  Joseph  Cham- 
berlin  to  Nancy  Deal.  December  9,  by  Mr.  Hood,  David  Duncan, 
of  Centre  county,  to  Miss  Susan  Hayes,  of  New  Berlin. 


i§^.9. 


TJyiON    Hickory    Newspaper — Supreme    Cocrt     Persoxnel — Ax    Ux- 

PUBLISHED    OpIXIOX. 

HE  winter  of  1828-29  particularly  unpleasant  ;  rain  fell 
daily  for  seventy  days,  and  spring  was  fifteen  days  later 
than  usual,  when  the  weather  became  suddenly  warm. 
June  17,  most  of  the  farmers  commenced  mowing. 
Market  price  of  wheat  in  May,  $1   40. 

January  27,  the  turnpike  let  to  John  Maclayfor  $3  90  per  perch, 
the  whole  distance  from  Lewisburg  to  Mifflinburg. 

February  17,  a  large  meeting  held  at  New  Berlin  to  appoint  dele- 
gates to  4th  of  March  convention.  George  Weirick  and  William 
Kessler,  Esquire,  appointed  delegates,  with  instructions  to  support, 
first,  for  Governor,  George  Kremer ;  second,  Ner  Middleswarth ; 
third,  Samuel  D.  Ingham  ;  and,  if  neither  succeeded,  to  unite  in  nom- 
inating a  Jackson  man,  no  way  connected  with  the  present  Adminis- 
tration, by  blood  or  otherwise. 

3d  March,  an  appropriation  made  by  the  Legislature  for  the  im- 
provement of  Penn's  creek. 

May  5,  William  Carothers  moved  the  Union  Hickory  newspaper 
press  from  New  Berlin  to  Lewisburg,  and  continued  its  publication 
till  April  13,  1830.  In  May,  James  F.  Linn  surveyed  and  laid  out 
the  river  road  from  Lewisburg  to  Selinsgrove.  Jacob  K.  Boyer,  of 
Reading,  who  had  done  a  large  mercantile  business,  and  bought  a 
great  deal  of  wheat  through  Buffalo  Valley,  was  convicted  of  passing 
counterfeit  money.  He  was  said,  by  the  district  attorney,  to  be 
32  497 


4q8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  [1829. 

guilty  of  the  most  expert,  extensive,  and  wholesale  counterfeiting  ever 
known  within  the  United  States. 

June  26,  Supreme  Court  personnel :  Gibson  is  a  large,  portly  man. 
somewhat  corpulent,  small  eyes,  black  hair,  clean  shaven,  noble 
countenance.  Rogers,  small,  thin-faced  man,  dark  hair,  no  whisk- 
ers, very  intelligent  countenance.  Huston,  tall,  awkward,  promi- 
nent eyebrows,  eyes  deep  set,  large  nose,  iron  gray  hair,  and  short 
whiskers.  Tod,  short,  corpulent,  red  complexion,  light  hair,  very 
little  of  it,  and  that  frizzled.  Smith,  short,  fat,  white  headed,  large 
nose,  large  rolling  eyes,  stooping  a  little  as  he  walks. 

An  Unpublished  Opinion. 

Sunbury,  June  27,  the  news  arrived  of  the  nomination  of  Joseph 
Ritner  for  Governor,  by  the  Anti-Masonic  convention,  at  Harrisburg, 
yesterday.  Justice  Frederick  Smith  took  his  seat  in  the  court-house 
some  time  before  the  meeting  of  the  court.  Justice  Rogers  next  ap- 
peared, to  whom  Smith  said  :  "  Well,  Mr.  Rogers,  whom  think  you 
the  Anti-Masons  have  nominated?  "  Rogers:  "  I  have  not  heard; 
haveyou?"  Smith:  "Yes,  they  have  fixed  on  Joseph  Ritner."  "Why, 
the  damned  fools,  what  do  they  think  they  can  do  with  him.  He 
wont  get  ten  thousand  votes.  Oh,  the  damned  fools,  ha!  ha!  ha! " 
Justice  Tod  came  in  next,  when  Smith  went  on  :  "  Well,  Mr.  Tod, 
have  you  heard  whom  the  Anti-Masons  have  nominated  for  Gover- 
nor?" Tod:  "No;  have  you?  "  Smith:  "Joseph Ritner."  Tod: 
"Joseph  Ritner!  Joseph  Ritner!  Joseph  Ritner!  Well,  I'll  vote 
for  any  Anti-Mason,  any  Anti-Jackson,  Anti-canal  candidate ;  but 
Joseph  Ritner,  I  won't  vote  for  him,  by  God  !  "  Then  in  sauntered 
Chief  Justice  Gibson,  and  Smith  began  again  :  "'  Mr.  Chief  Justice, 
have  you  heard  whom  the  Anti-Masons  have  nominated  for  Gover- 
nor?" Gibson:  "No;  who  is  it?"  Smith:  "Joseph  Ritner." 
Gibson  :  "  Oh,  hell !  "  The  chief  justice  whistled  a  slow  march,  and 
took  Ills  seat  without  further  remark.  Justice  Huston  did  not  enter 
until  the  court  had  proceeded  to  business,  so  that  he  delivered  no 
opinion  on  this  momentous  subject. — G.  A.  S. 

This  year  is  noted  for  its  tremendous  Anti-Masonic  excitement. 
September  15,  Reverend  J.  H.  Fries  delivered  an  address  before  the 
Masonic  Wolf  meeting,  in   New  Berlin,  when  George  Kremer  and 


1829.]    '  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  499 

John  Dreisbach  were  nominated  for  Assembly.  August  29,  the 
Anti-Masonic  convention  nominated  Ner  Middleswarth  and  Philip 
Ruhl.  George  Bogar,  president.  Delegates  were,  Union,  Charles 
Maus  and  George  Bogar ;  East  Buffalo,  William  L.  Harris  and  Peter 
Voneida ;  Hartley,  Michael  Peters  and  Daniel  Speigelmyer ;  White 
Deer,  Jacob  Sypher  and  Christian  Reichly  ;  Kelly,  Joseph  Spotts 
and  George  Moyer ;  Mifflinburg,  John  Montelius  and  John  Van 
Buskirk ;  West  Buffalo,  Henry  and  David  Jordan.  Joseph  Ritner 
recommended  for  Governor ;  county  commissioner,  William  Betz. 
In  October,  the  Ritner  vote  in  Union  county  was  2,068  ;  Wolf, 
for  Governor,  had  764;  Middleswarth  and  Ruhl  had  each  1,914; 
Kremer,  810;  Driesbach,  971.  For  Governor,  Ritner  had  61  votes 
in  Lewisburg,  Wolf  had  58  votes. 

Horse  races  very  common  this  year  in  and  about  Lewisburg. 
August  20,  occurred  the  one  between  Sargent's  sorrel  and  "  Tam- 
any,"  of  Milton.  The  Milton  people  came  down  and  bet  all  the 
money  they  had  on  their  favorite ;  watches,  knives,  and,  in  fact, 
everything  they  had  about  them.  Sargent's  horse  won  by  five  to  six 
lengths.  J.  P.  Ross  used  to  relate  the  scenes  of  this  day,  and  laugh 
until  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  He  said  the  Lewisburg  fellows 
had  to  lend  the  Milton  men  money  to  pay  their  toll  going  home. 
October  3,  race  between  John  Forster's  horse  and  Silverwood's. 

Thomas  Sawyer  and  family  left  the  Valley  for  Ohio.  Road 
from  Chamberlin's  mill  to  Kelly's  saw-mill  laid  out.  Farm  of  Ben- 
jamin Schrack,  deceased,  appraised  at  ^15  per  acre.  General  Green 
bought  the  Stedman  farm,  opposite  Lewisburg,  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  acres,  at  $2f(i  per  acre,  cash.  December  4,  the  first 
snow  fell.  December  28,  turnpike  managers  met,  and  the  commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Governor  reported  it  completed. 

Marriages. 

17th  January,  William  Wilson  (son  of  Judge  Hugh)  to  Ruth  Wad- 
dell,  of  Centre  county,  by  Reverend  Mr.  Todd,  at  Mifflinburg. 
20th,  Walter  Devling  to  Eliza,  daughter  of  Judge  Hugh  Wilson,  by 
Mr.  Hood.  February  17,  Doctor  Joseph  F.  Grier  to  Margaret, 
daughter  of  A.  Graham.  February  — ,  Peter  Strayhorn  to  a  daughter 
of  James  Cornelius.     Robert  Forster  to  Miss  Jane  Rutherford,  of 


SOO  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1830. 

Harrisburg.  February  27,  Abraham  Amberg  to  Charlotte  Brookes, 
of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  formerly  of  New  Berlin.  28th  April,  Simon 
Grove  to  Miss  Mary  Miller,  of  Reading.  20th  May,  C.  H.  Charles, 
of  Hartley,  to  Juliette  Mann,  of  Tioga.  28th  May,  by  Reverend 
T.  Hood,  Robert  Hayes  to  Emily  Fields,  (daughter  of  the  bridge- 
builder.)  31st,  by  Samuel  Wilson,  Esquire,  Henry  Benner  to  Miss 
Moyer,  of  Union,  nth  June,  George  Aurand,  Esquire,  to  Mrs. 
Mary  Royer.  23d,  by  J.  F.  Linn,  Esquire,  John  Shaw  to  Margaret 
Baker,  at  Jacob  Musser's  hotel.  July  2,  Daniel  K.  Hill  to  Barbara 
A.  Musser,  Lewisburg.  By  Reverend  James  Kay, Christopher  Woods, 
junior,  to  Miss  Maria  Little,  of  Lewisburg.  July  14,  Israel  Zent- 
myer  to  Eve  Snook,  daughter  of  John,  of  West  Buffalo.  4th  Au- 
gust, by  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire,  Henry  M3'ers  to  Hannah  Walter, 
nth  August,  L.  B.  Christ,  Esquire,  to  Esther  Bogar.  September 
22,  by  Reverend  Nathaniel  Todd,  John  A.  Vanvalzah  to  Miss  Re- 
becca Chambers. 


1830. 


Wkatoer    Record — Johnny  Morton — Census  of  1830. 

N  the  1 6th  of  May,  oak  leaves  made  their  appearance — 
a  very  early  spring — blossoms  all  off  the  trees  by  the 
30th  of  April,  except  apple,  which  were  in  bloom  two 
or  three  weeks  since.  The  month  of  July  was  excess- 
ively hot.  The  1 8th,  20th,  and  2 2d,  were  the  warmest  days.  Sat- 
urday morning,  in  shade,  ninety-three  degrees;  Monday,  ninety-five 
degrees ;  Wednesday,  ninety-five  degrees. 

Officers  of  Lafayette  Lodge  :  H.  W.  Snyder,  W.  M. ;  George  A. 
Snyder,  S.  W. ;  John  Seebold,  J.  W.  ;  Doctor  John  Baskins,  secre- 
tary ;  Henry  C.  Eyer,  treasurer. 

January  11,  the  New  Berlin  Anti-Horse-Race  Association  formed. 


1830.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  501 

Peter  Beaver,  president,  John  Mauck,  secretary.  February  22, 
James  Sargent  fell  off  Kremer's  boat,  at  the  mouth  of  Brown's  run, 
and  was  drowned.  March  2,  a  union  agricultural  association  formed 
at  R.  H.  Hammond's,  in  Milton,  embracing  Columbia,  Lycoming, 
and  Union  counties.  Dan  Caldwell  chosen  president.  March  12, 
Samuel  Reber  opened  hotel  at  Lochiel  now.  May  i,  Daniel  Gott- 
shall  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Lewisburg  Journal.  May  28,  the 
Mififiinburg  Anti-Horse-Racing  Association  formed ;  Henry  Yearick, 
president,  Frederick  Gutelius,  secretary.  The  road  between  Lewis- 
burg and  Mortonsville  vacated,  and  the  Turtle  Creek  road,  at  the 
latter  place,  extended  to  the  turnpike.  June  12,  William  Linn  sold 
his  farm  in  Kelly  to  Adam  Stahl,  for  ^34  per  acre.  October  15, 
farm  of  C.  Nevius,  deceased,  sold  to  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  Wilson, 
at  $40  per  acre.  October  21,  George  Ritter's  farm,  in  Buffalo,  sold 
to  Roan  McClure  for  ^36  25  per  acre.  August  10,  Anti-Masonic 
ticket  formed  at  New  Berlin  :  E.  Greenough  for  Congress,  S.  J. 
Packer  for  Senator,  Ner  Middleswarth  and  Philip  Ruhl  for  Assembly, 
Peter  Hackenburg  for  commissioner.  Democratic  ticket :  Lewis 
Dewart  for  Congress,  Samuel  Bloom  for  Senator,  John  Dreisbach 
and  Jacob  Wittenmeyer  for  Assembly.  October  26,  the  first  agri- 
cultural fair  was  held  at  Milton.  December  16,  Abner  C.  Harding, 
a  student  at  law  with  James  F.  Linn,  Esquire,  was  admitted  to  the  bar. ' 

Johnny  Morion. 

Johnny  is  now  dead.  I  wonder  that  he  lasted  so  long.  Although 
everybody  called  him  "Johnny,"  he  never  suffered  himself  to  be  so 
called,  without  displaying  a  sense  of  offended  dignity.  "  My  name 
is  John,"  he  used  to  say;  "  Johnny  is  a  boy's  name."  He  disliked 
also  the  name  of  beer  ;  beer  was  trash,  only  fit  for  hogs  ;  "a  bier 
was  a  thing  for  the  dead." 

'  General  Abner  O.  Harding  was  born  in  East  Hampton,  Connecticut,  educated  at 
Hamilton,  New  York,  studied  law  at  Lewisburg,  and  settled  finally  in  the  State  of 
Illinois.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Constitutional  Convention  of  1848,  and 
served  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1848-9-50  ;  and  was  for  ten  years  engaged  in  man- 
aging railroads.  In  1862  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  eighty-third  Illinois,  and 
having  been  appointed  colonel,  served  at  Fort  Donelson  ;  was  made  a  brigadier  gen- 
eral, and  had  command  at  Murfreesboro'  in  1863.  In  1864  he  was  elected  to  the 
Thirty-Ninth  Congress,  serving  with  Honorable  George  F.  Miller,  another  student 
of  Mr.  Linn,  in  that  Congress.  He  died  at  Monmouth,  Warren  county,  Illinois 
July  19, 1874,  worth,  it  is  said,  over  $1,000,000. 


502 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1830. 


Johnny's  love  of  whisky  and  his  hatred  of  beer  afforded  abundance 
of  amusement  to  the  idle  boys  of  New  Berlin  and  Mifflinburg,  who 
flocked  around  him  as  soon  as  he  made  his  appearance  in  the  streets, 
as  did  the  small  birds  around  the  owl,  who  happens  to  be  overtaken 
in  the  daylight.  "  Johnny  !  Johnny  !  do  you  want  any  beer  ?"  was 
shouted  by  the  blackguards  ;  to  which  Johnny  replied  with  curses, 
and  sometimes  with  stones.  Johnny  came  to  New  Berlin  one  day, 
and  having  drank,  and  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  boys,  laid  himself 
down  upon  the  door-steps  of  the  jail.  The  sheriff  found  him  here, 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  two  or  three  others,  carried  him  into  the 
dungeon,^  and  made  all  fast.  A  few  hours  afterward  one  of  the 
sheriff's  family  went  to  the  door  to  make  observations,  and  heard 
Johnny  beginning  to  stir,  probably  just  waking.  After  muttering 
something  to  himself,  he  was  heard  to  say,  "  I  wonder  where  I  am  ?" 
and  after  a  brief  pause,  "  Well,  I  guess  I  am  in  hell,"  and,  seemingly 
satisfied  with  this  conjecture,  quietly  laid  himself  to  rest  until  the 
sheriff  came  to  release  him. — G.  A.  S. 


Census,  1830. 


White  Deer,     ....  1,295 

Kelly, 739 

Mifflinburg,     ....  663 

West  Buffalo,  ....  1,404 

Hartley  township,     .     .  1,730 

Washington,    ....  1,097 

Perry, 1,050 

Chapman, 1,094 

One  male  and  two  female  slaves 


Lewisburg,        .      .      .     .  924 

Buffalo, 2,130 

Centre,        '5952 

Beaver, 2,280 

Union, 2,085 

Penn's, 2,304 


Total, 


20,747 


'  In  all  old  jails  was  a  room  from  which  the  light  was  altogether  excliuled,  called 
the  dungeon,  a  relic  of  barbarism  or  popery  now,  happily  abolished. 


1831. 


Cross-cut  Canal — First  Temperance  Society  formed  in  the  Yalley — 
Bethel  Church  Organized. 

ARCH  22,  news  of  the  passage  of  the  improvement  act, 
and  its  signature  by  the  Governor,  which  includes  the 
Lewisburg   cross-cut,    reached   Lewisburg.     The   town 
was  illuminated,  cannon  fired,  and  toasts  drank.    North- 
umberland Bank  incorporated. — Pamphlet  Laws,  298. 

April  12,  A.  Reedy's,  deceased,  stone  house  at  Buffalo  Cross- 
Roads  sold  by  his  administrators  to  John  A.  Vanvalzah,  for  ^586. 

May  10,  price  of  grain  in  Philadelphia,  $\  25.  May  12,  Messrs. 
Cameron,  Vanvalzah,  and  Joyce  returned  from  Harrisburg,  having 
succeeded  in  getting  the  cross-cut  canal  under  contract. 

'■'■A  Penny  saved  is  a  Penny  made — Old  Adage. — Canal  boat  'Mer- 
chant's Choice,'  Captain  Blair,  arrived  here  on  Monday  last,  in 
nine  days  from  Philadelphia,  with  merchandize  for  Messrs.  Comly 
and  Cadwallader.     Her  cargo  was  twenty  tons. 

12  for  C.  Comly,  at  $10, $120 

8  do.  S.  Cadwallader,  .....  80 


$200 


"  These  twenty  tons  by  wagons  would  come  to  600  dollars,  at  30 
dollars  per  ton,  or  $1  50  per  cwt.,  the  usual  price.  Now,  what  is 
saved  to  us,  the  consumers,  in  this  single  trip?  Why,  only  ^400. 
Sugars  we  used  to  pay  12^^  cts.  per  lb.  is  now  sold  for  10  cents. 
This  is  what  we  call  canal  politics." — Prick's  Miltonian,  May  14, 
1831. 

503 


S04  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1831. 

Mowing  commenced  in  the  Valley  as  early  as  the  8th  of  June. 

4th  July  celebrated  by  the  Lewisburg  Guards  and  citizens,  at 
Brown's  spring,  below  Lewisburg.     James  Aiken  made  an  address. 

28th  September,  the  first  temperance  society  formed  at  Lewis- 
burg. Reverend  Seiwers  delivered  an  address.  Only  seven  persons, 
John  Nesbit,  Esquire,  James  Aiken,  James  F.  Linn,  Caroline  Gra- 
ham, Mary  Irwin,  Elizabeth  Irwin,  and  Abner  C.  Harding  joined. 

During  this  year,  the  Bethel  church  in  White  Deer  was  organized 
from  members  of  the  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  church  ;  elders,  Andrew 
McClenachan  and  Matthew  Laird. 

Deaths. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Kelly,  wife  of  Colonel  John  Kelly,  2d  January.  She 
went  to  bed  in  her  usual  health  the  night  before ;  got  up  in  the 
night  and  made  herself  a  cup  of  tea;  was  heard  to  groan,  and  com- 
plained of  pain  in  her  stomach.  By  the  time,  the  family  were 
awakened  she  was  dead.  She  was  a  daughter  of  James  Poak,  sister 
of  Mrs.  Darraugh. 

23d  May,  Thomas  Wilson,  of  Kelly,  died.  He  was  injured  on 
Thursday,  19th,  by  a  log  falling  from  the  top  of  a  wagon-wheel 
upon  him. 


183^. 


Lewisburg  Presbyterian    Church  Built — Laurelton    Church  Organ- 
ized— Sketch  of  Colonel  John  Kelly. 

ARCH  4,  General  Abbot  Green,  delegate  to  the  State 
convention  to  form  an  electoral  ticket.  5th,  A.  C. 
Harding  addressed  the  temperance  society  and  sixty- 
eight  names  were  added.  17th  March,  over  ^3,000 
subscribed  to  build  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Lewisburg,  and  Gen- 
eral Green,  Alexander  Graham,  James  Geddes,  Thomas  Clingan, 
William  L.  Harris,  Doctor  Thomas  Vanvalzah,  and  William  Nesbit 
directed,  as  trustees,  to  go  on  with  the  building. 

4th  May,  Samuel  Oaks,  Colonel  Thomas  Smith,  and  Abraham 
Straub  appointed  to  run  the  county  line  of  Lycoming  and  Union  : 
Beginning  at  a  marked  red  oak,  58  perches  above  Lafferty's  run,  S. 
89°  W.,  until  it  intersects  the  original  division  line  between  North- 
umberland and  Lycoming ;  thence  along  the  same  to  the  Centre 
county  line.. — Pamphlet  Laws,  458. 

July  4,  thirty-seven  survivors,  of  the  Revolution  still  living  in 
Union  county.  Twenty -six  joined  in  the  procession  at  the  celebra- 
tion in  New  Berlin  to-day ;  among  them  were  John  Linn,  Frederick 
Bingaman,  Hugh  Wilson,  George  Engle,  Christopher  Seebold,  and 
John  Wilson.  Isaac  Slenker,  Esquire,  delivered  an  oration,  and 
afterwards  entertained  the  old  soldiers  at  his  house.  Ice  was  then 
just  coming  into  use,  and  one  old  gentleman  was  observed  picking 
the  pieces  out  of  his  brandy.     He  thought  it  was  glass. 

August  9  was  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  to  avert  the 

505 


sob  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1832. 

cholera.  On  the  i6th  Doctor  Ezra  Styles  Ely  preached  at  Lewisburg. 
His  delivery  was  rapid,  but  his  discourse  he  seemed  to  make  very 
plain  to  every  one.  The  Laurelton  church  was  organized — an  off- 
shoot of  the  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  Presbyterian  church. 

Colonel  John  Kelly. 

Colonel  Kelly  died  on  the  i8th  of  February,  aged  eighty-eight. 
The  following  sketch  of  him  is  taken  from  an  address  made  by  James 
Merrill,  Esquire,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1835,  when  the  monument, 
purchased  by  his  relatives,  was  put  in  position  with  public  ceremony. 

Colonel  John  Kelly  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  in  this  State, 
in  February,  1744.  After  the  purchase  from  the  Indians  of  1768, 
and  before  the  opening  of  the  land  office  in  1769,  he  came  to  Buf- 
falo Valley,  then  a  part  of  Berks  county.  Here  he  suffered  all  the 
hardships  and  privations,  which  are  inseparable  upon  the  first  settle- 
ment of  a  new  country.  He  was  tall,  about  six  feet  two  inches  in 
height,  vigorous  and  muscular,  with  his  body  so  inured  to  labor  as 
to  be  almost  insensible  to  fatigue,  and  a  mind  so  accustomed  to  dan- 
gers, that  dangers  ceased  to  alarm.  In  the  prime  of  manhood,  and 
in  the  vigor  of  health,  with  inteUigence  to  understand  correct  prin- 
ciples, and  with  firmness  to  adhere  to  them,  it  may  well  be  supposed 
that  he  took  a  commanding  position  among  his  fellows.  He  was  a 
captain,  and  a  major  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  when  his 
country  called  on  her  sons  to  save  her  from  the  fangs  of  a  tyrant, 
he  was  ready.  At  the  very  darkest  period  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
when  all  was  lost,  but  honor  and  hope,  and  when  hope  was  almost 
buried  in  despair,  in  the  fall  of  1776,  he  volunteered  to  assist  in  the 
protection  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  present  at  Trenton,  when  the 
Hessians  surrendered,  and  assisted  in  that  most  masterly  movement 
on  Princeton,  by  which  the  chain  of  communications  of  the  enemy 
was  broken,  all  their  plans  deranged,  and  their  army  compelled  to 
return  to  New  York  and  its  neighborhorhood,  and  to  leave  New  Jersey 
free  to  avenge  her  wrongs.  When  we  consider  the  depression  of  public 
spirit,  how  public  confidence  in  the  final  success  of  our  cause  was  shaken 
by  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  and  the  losses  of  Fort  Washington  and 
Lee,  with  most  of  our  military  stores  ;  when  we  consider  that  at  one  time 
the  American  army  numbered  less  than  two  thousand  men,  we  would 


1832.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  507 

not  think  it  wonderful  if  all  should  have  been  given  up  for  lost — and 
so  it  would,  if  the  stake  had  been  less.  But  our  people  believed  that 
they  had  no  right  to  abandon  their  cause  of  liberty.  They  were 
bound  to  protect  it  for  themselves,  and  upon  their  success  depended 
the  freedom  of  their  posterity.  They  must  decide,  whether  or  not, 
their  children  should  be  slaves.  They  must  decide  whether  all  peo- 
ple must  bow  their  necks  to  the  iron  yoke  of  despotism,  or  whether 
they  might  anticipate  a  time  when  free  institutions  should  prevail- 
through  the  world.  Our  friend  and  his  confederates  of  that  day 
might  have  retired  into  an  ignoble  and  contemptible  security.  They 
might  have  said,  what  is  New  Jersey  to  us?  We  have  homes  and 
firesides,  which  may  be  endangered.  But  they  argued  better :  if 
we  refuse  to  come  to  the  rescue,  we  cannot  expect  security.  We 
cannot  propitiate  the  monster  tyranny,  by  shrinking  from  our  duty. 
Influenced  by  these  considerations,  our  friends  went  to  the  rescue  of 
our  sister  State. 

Our  friend  joined  the  army  fully  resolved  to  do  his  duty.  Then 
was  the  time  to  test  his  vigor  of  body,  as  well  as  the  firmness  of  his 
mind.  For  three  days  at  one  time,  there  was  no  regular  service  of 
provisions,  and  for  more  than  thirty-six  hours,  at  another  time,  they 
were  constantly  on  the  march,  or  in  action,  without  a  moment's  sleep 
or  giving  up  their  arms.  In  the  course  of  one  of  their  retreats,  the 
commander-in-chief,  through  Colonel  Potter,  sent  an  order  to  Major 
Kelly  to  have  a  certain  bridge  cut  down  to  prevent  the  advance  of 
the  British,  who  were  then  in  sight.  The  major  sent  for  an  axe  ; 
but  represented  that  the  enterprise  would  be  very  hazardous.  Still 
the  British  advance  must  be  stopped,  and  the  order  was  not  with- 
drawn. He  said  he  could  not  order  another  to  do  what  some  might 
say  he  was  afraid  to  do  himself;  he  would  cut  down  the  bridge. 

Before  all  the  logs  on  which  the  bridge  lay  were  cut  off,  he  was 
completely  within  the  range  of  the  British  fire,  and  several  balls 
struck  the  log  on  which  he  stood.  The  last  log  broke  down  sooner 
than  he  expected,  and  he  fell  with  it  into  the  swollen  stream.  Our 
soldiers  moved  on,  not  believing  it  possible  for  him  to  escape.  He, 
however,  by  great  exertions,  reached  the  shore  through  the  high 
water  and  the  floating  timber,  and  followed  the  troops.  Incumbered, 
as  he  must  have  been,  with  his  wet  and  frozen  clothes,  he,  on  his  road, 
made  a  prisoner  of  a  British  scout,  an  armed  soldier,  and  took  him 


So8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1832. 

into  camp.  What  did  Curtius  do  more  than  this  ?  If  such  an  in- 
stance of  devoted  heroism  had  happened  in  Greece  or  Rome,  the  day 
would  have  been  distinguished  from  all  other  days.  A  medal  would 
have  been  struck,  and  every  means  used  to  secure  the  everlasting  re- 
membrance of  such  a  deed.  In  England  such  a  man  would  have 
been  made  a  knight  or  a  lord,  with  the  thanks  of  Parliament.  In 
our  poor  devoted  land  such  instances  were  too  common  to  receive 
especial  notice.  History  mentions  that  our  army  was  preserved  by 
the  destruction  of  that  bridge  ;  but  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done, 
or  the  name  of  the  person  who  did  it,  is  not  mentioned.  It  was  but 
one  of  a  series  of  heroic  acts,  which  happened  every  day,  and  our 
soldiers  then  were  more  familiar  with  the  sword  than  with  the  pen. 
As  we  have  met  to  erect  a  marble  tomb  over  the  remains  of  that 
individual,  it  is  right  for  us  to  bring  out  this  act  into  more  bold 
relief. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  at  this  time  no  arrangement  had  been 
made  respecting  prisoners;  that  the  British  commanders  only  admit- 
ted that  they  arrested  rebels,  and  not  that  they  took  prisoners  of  war. 
Thus  all  who  fought  on  our  side,  in  addition  to  the  common  dan- 
gers of  war,  might  expect,  if  taken,  to  suffer  an  ignominious  death. 
After  his  discharge.  Major  Kelly  returned  to  his  farm  and  his  family, 
and  during  the  three  succeeding  years  the  Indians  were  troublesome 
neighbors  to  this  then  frontier  settlement.  He  became  colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  keep  watch  and  ward  against 
the  incursions  of  hostile  Indians,  through  our  mountain  passes.  At 
one  time  our  people  were  too  weak  to  resist,  and  our  whole  beautiful 
country  was  abandoned.  Colonel  Kelly  was  among  the  first  to  re- 
turn— for  at  least  two  harvests  reapers  took  their  rifles  to  the  fields, 
and  some  of  the  company  watched  while  others  wrought.  Colonel 
Kelly  had  the  principal  command  of  the  scouting  parties  in  this  Val- 
ley, and  very  often  he  was  out  in  person.  Many  and  many  nights 
has  he  lain  among  the  limbs  of  a  fallen  tree  to  keep  himself  out  of 
the  mud,  without  a  fire,  because  a  fire  would  indicate  his  position  to 
the  enemy.  He  had  become  well  skilled  in  their  mode  of  warfare. 
One  circumstance  deserves  particular  notice.  The  Indians  seem  to 
have  resolved  on  his  death,  without  choosing  to  attack  him  openly. 
One  night  he  had  rea.son  to  apprehend  that  they  were  near.  He  rose 
in  the  morning,  and,  by  looking  through  the  crevices  of  his  log-house. 


1832.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  sog 

he  ascertained  that  two,  at  least,  if  not  more,  were  laying  with  their 
arms,  so  as  to  shoot  him  when  he  should  open  his  door.  He  fixed 
his  own  rifle,  and  took  his  position,  so  that  by  a  string  he  could  open 
the  door,  and  watch  the  Indians.  The  moment  he  pulled  the  door 
open,  two  balls  came  into  the  house,  and  the  Indians  rose  to  advance. 
He  fired  and  wounded  one,  and  both  retreated.  After  waiting  to 
satisfy  himself  that  no  others  remained,  he  followed  them  by  the 
blood ;  but  they  escaped. 

For  many  years  Colonel  Kelly  held  the  office  of  a  magistrate  of 
the  county.  In  the  administration  of  justice,  he  exhibited  the  same 
anxiety  to  do  right,  and  the  same  disregard  of  self  gain,  which  had 
characterized  him  in  the  military  service  of  the  country.  He  would  at 
any  time  forgive  his  own  fees,  and  if  the  parties  were  poor,  pay  the 
constable's  costs,  to  procure  a  compromise.  While,  by  industry  and 
economy,  his  own  pecuniary  circumstances  were  comfortable  and 
easy,  he  seemed  to  desire  the  prosperity  of  all  men,  and  most  anxi- 
ously to  desire,  that  all  neighbors  should  be  friends.  No  man  ever 
in  vain  sought  his  interposition  to  reconcile  conflicting  interests,  to 
soothe  angry  passions,  to  stand,  as  the  defender  and  protector  of 
the  poor  man,  the  widow,  and  the  orphan. 

He  obeyed  the  injunction,  "be  given  to  hospitality."  There  are 
few  middle  aged  men  in  this  country,  who  have  not  experienced 
the  cordial  welcome,  which  every  friend  received  at  his  house.  It 
is  true,  that  so  general  is  the  hospitality  of  his  neighborhood  that 
the  want  of  it  would  be  considered  a  great  vice  \  but  in  him  it  was 
a  part  of  the  same  character,  indicating  a  freedom  from  selfishness,  an 
inability  to  enjoy  fully  God's  bounties  alone ;  a  feeling  that  a  good 
thing  is  rendered  far  more  valuable  by  participation ;  and  a  convic- 
tion that  the  diffusion  of  happiness  is  not  merely  right  in  itself,  but. 
the  source  of  great  joy  to  every  well-regulated  mind. 

Colonel  Kelly  was  an  affectionate  husband,  and  a  kind  and  judicious 
father,  as  well  as  a  friendly  and  hospitable  neighbor. 

Thus  have  we  seen  our  venerable  friend  performed  his  domestic, 
social,  military,  and  political  duties  in  such  a  manner  as  to  entitle 
himself  to  the  love  and  esteem  of  his  neighbors,  and  to  the  thanks 
and  honors  of  his  countrymen  and  of  posterity.  It  may  be  asked, 
could  a  man  so  punctiliously  perform  all  those  duties,  and  leave  out 
of  his  regard  his  obligations  to  his  Maker?     No,  indeed,  my  friends. 


jio  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   yALLEV.  [1832. 

he  did  not  lack  that  crowning  virtue.  He  was  a  sincere  and  an 
exemplary  Christian,  and  he  adorned  all  his  other  virtues  by  exhibit- 
ing a  pattern  of  humility  well  worthy  of  imitation.  Having  no 
anxieties  who  should  be  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  he  had 
no  striving  who  should  be  greatest  in  the  Church  on  earth,  his  pro- 
fession of  religion  was  well  sustained  by  his  practice. 

Towards  the  end  of  a  long  and  active  life.  Colonel  Kelly  became, 
by  disease,  incapable  of  much  motion,  and  seldom  left  his  home.  He 
seemed  to  be  retiring  from  public  view,  and  preparing  to  leave  this 
world  when  he  should  be  called.  He  had  that  true  characteristic  of 
bravery,  an  indisposition  to  fight  his  battles  over  again,  and  that 
feeling  of  humility,  that  where  a  man  has  only  done  his  duty,  boast- 
ing has  no  place.  It  is  in  some  measure  owing  to  this  reserve 
that  our  notice  of  his  life  must  be  so  brief  and  so  imperfect.  He 
seemed  not  to  know,  that  other  men  would  have  done  differently  from 
him;  but  to  believe  that  whatever  distinguished  him  from  others, 
arose  mainly  from  the  circumstances  under  which  he  acted.  We 
are  of  another  generation,  and  his  contemporaries  have  either  gone 
down  to  the  grave,  or  through  lapse  of  time  and  failing  faculities, 
are  unable  to  give  particular  details.  From  himself,  but  a  few  glean- 
ings from  a  life  long  and  full  of  incidents,  have  been  obtained. 

His  last  end  proved  his  character  to  be  consistent.  He  met  the 
grim  messenger  calmly;  "  for  he  knew  in  whom  he  had  trusted ;"  and 
he  could  "walk  through  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death,  fearing  no 
evil."  Age  brought  its  weakness,  no  doubt.  The  frame  was  bent, 
and  the  muscles  relaxed;  but  the  mind — the  immortal  mind — could 
not  be  obscured.  It  brightened  more  and  more  "unto  the  perfect 
day."  He  has  passed  beyond  "that  bourne,  whence  no  traveler  re- 
turns." He  has  gone,  we  humbly  trust,  to  that  Heaven  where  "there 
remaineth  a  rest  for  the  righteous,  and  where  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling."  Emphatically  may  it  be  said,  that  after  a  life  well 
spent,  and  in  firm  hope  of  a  resurrection  to  immortal  glory,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight  years,  he  departed,  leaving  his  memory  to  our 
care  and  his  virtues  for  our  imitation — James  Merrill,  Esquire's, 
Address. 

Colonel  Kelly's  children  were  :  James,  who  moved  to  Penn's  val- 
ley, and  died  there.  He  was  the  father  of  Honorable  James  K. 
Kelly,  United  States  Senator,  of  Portland,  Oregon  ;  John,  who  also 


1833.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  s" 

moved  to  Penn's  valley ;  William,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Archi- 
bald Allison,  of  Centre  county,  and  died,  January  27,  1830;  An- 
drew, a  bachelor,  who  was  born  1783,  and  died  on  the  old  place, 
September  24,  1867,  aged  eighty- four  ;  Samuel  Kelly,  of  Armstrong 
county,  Pennsylvania ;  Elizabeth,  married  to  Simeon  Howe  ;  Maria, 
married  to  John  Campbell,  of  Lewisburg ;  Robert,  who  died  April 
12,  1865,  aged  seventy-seven;  Joseph,  died  March  2,  i860,  aged 
sixty-six;  David  H.  Kelly,  Esquire,  deceased,  late  county  commis- 
sioner of  Union  county. 

I  note,  also,  the  death  of  Reverend  Thomas  Smiley,  aged  seventy- 
three,  born  (in  Dauphin  county  now)  in  1759,  of  Scotch-Irish  parent- 
age. Served  in  Colonel  Curtis  Grubb's  battalion  of  militia.  Ordained 
in  December,  1802.  Settled  in  White  Deer  in  1808,  where  he  estab- 
lished the  first  regular  Baptist  church  within  the  bounds  of  Union 
county. 


i§33- 


Methodist  Church  ix  Lewisburg  Dedicated — The  Presbyterian  Church 
Completed,  and  the  Geeman  Church  Commenced — Rain  of  Fire — 
Court  and  Lawyers. 

ANUARY  5,  the  new  Methodist  church,  on  Third  street, 
Lewisburg,  consecrated.  The  weather  was  so  warm  that 
the  windows  had  to  be  opened.  Sunday,  6th,  Reverend 
Mr.  Steele  preached  in  a.  m.,  in  the  new  church.  Mr. 
Hood  in  P.  m.  Weather  still  very  warm.  The  nth  of  January  was 
probably  the  coldest  day  of  the  year. 

January  30,  David  Myers,  of  East  Buffalo,  who  was  kicked  in  the 
abdomen  by  a  horse,  on  Monday,  28th,  died  to-day. 

March  21,  J.  F.  Quay,  J.  F.  Murray,  and  David  Rockefeller  ap- 
pointed to  run  the  division  line  between  Lycoming  and  Union 
counties. 


^12  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1833. 

May  31,  Jesse  Cornelius,  miller,  at  Trester's  old  mill,  on  Turtle 
creek,  was  caught  in  the  machinery.  Ribs,  breast  bone,  &c.,  broken. 
He  died  immediately. 

July  26,  Ephraim  Darraugh's  widow  buried  at  Lewisburg.  31, 
Presbyterian  church  building  completed,  and  on  the  4th  of  Au- 
gust Mr.  Hood  preached  the  first  sermon  therein,  on  the  text,  "  Re- 
member the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy."  August  31,  Thomas 
Clingan,  William  Nesbit,  Esquire,  Robert  H.  Laird,  and  James  F. 
Linn  were  elected  elders. 

September  30,  Reverend  Mathew  Laird  married,  at  Mr.  Hood's, 
to  Miss  Harriet  Myer,  school-teacher  at  Lewisburg.  They  sailed, 
on  15  th  October,  as  missionaries  to  Africa. 

October  15,  Thomas  Jones,  inn-keeper,  died.  18,  Roan  McClure, 
after  fifteen  minutes'  sickness. 

November  4,  a  subscription  was  started,  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing a  Union  German  Reformed  and  Lutheran  church,  on  Third  and 
St.  Lewis  streets,  in  Lewisburg,  to  be  called  St.  Lewis  church,  "  in 
honor  of  the  original  proprietor  of  the  borough,  and  the  benefactor, 
(Ludwig  Derr,)  who  gave  three  lots  for  religious  use." 

On  19th  May,  1834,  John  Reber,  John  Snook,  and  Henry  Noll, 
elders ;  Henry  Noll  and  Ludwig  Long,  deacons  of  the  German  Pres- 
byterian congregation,  entered  into  an  agreement  with  Jonathan 
Spyker  and  John  Gundy,  trustees  of  the  German  Lutheran  congre- 
gation, giving  the  latter  "  the  same  privilege  of  the  German  burying- 
ground,  which  Ludwig  Derr,  in  his  liftetime,  gave  to  the  German 
Presbyterian  congregation,  being  on  lots  Nos.  121,  123,  and  125, 
as  well  as  an  equal  privilege  of  the  church  built  or  building  on  said 
ground,  to  be  tenants  in  common,"  &c.  See  deed  book  K,  pages 
173  and  174,  (at  Lewisburg.)  Li  the  year  185 1,  the  Lutheran  con- 
gregation bought  out  the  interest  of  the  German  Reformed,  the  lat- 
ter having  built  on  the  corner  of  St.  John  and  Third  streets. 

November  13,  from  two  o'clock  until  daylight  occurred  a  fire- 
storm, or  the  fall  of  small  particles  of  fire,  which  appeared  to  extin- 
guish a  few  feet  from  the  ground.  It  was  observed  all  through  Buf- 
falo Valley. 

December  7,  the  first  boats  passed  through  the  Lewisburg  cross- 
cut. December  29,  Lorenzo  Dow  preached  at  Lewisburg.  30th, 
John  Clark,  Esquire,  of  Beaver,  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  from 


1834.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  5T3 

that  county,  visited  Lewisburg.  He  is  is  a  son  of  Walter  Clark,  de- 
ceased, one  of  the  first  settlers  on  Buffalo  creek.  31st,  Mrs.  Hayes, 
mother  of  William,  (merchant  formerly,)  died  suddenly. 

Couri  and  Lawyers. 

At  September  term  the  grand  jury  of  the  county,  William  Forster, 
foreman,  petitioned  the  Governor  for  the  appointment  of  William 
W.  Potter,  Esquire,  of  Bellefonte,  as  president  judge,  vice  Seth 
Chapman,  resigned.  On  the  i6th  of  December  Judge  Ellis  Lewis' 
commission  as  president  judge  was  read,  who,  with  Hugh  Wilson 
and  General  Adam  Light,  associates,  comprised  the  court.  George 
F.  Miller  and  Samuel  Weirick,  Esquires,  were  admitted  to  the  bar 
on  the  15  th  of  May. 


1834. 


Eclipse  of  the  Sun — Anti-School  Meetings — Election  Returns. 

RICE  of  wheat  in  Philadelphia,  in  May,  ^i  10;  in  Sep- 
tember, $1  04;  corn,  64;  rye,  65.  There  was  no  snow 
during  the  month  of  February,  and  the  weather  was 
as  mild  as  it  usually  is  in  April.  On  the  nights  of  the 
31st  of  May  and  the  ist  of  June  occurred  a  black  frost  so  severe  as 
to  kill  the  leaves  of  almost  every  species  of  plants  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  Even  the  locust,  a  hardy  tree,  did  not  escape.  Cherries, 
apples,  peaches,  and  all  orchard  and  garden  fruits,  except  currants 
and  gooseberries,  perished.  Bears,  missing  their  summer  supply  of 
whortleberries,  came  down  from  the  hills  to  feed  upon  the  green 
corn,  and  were  killed  in  unusual  numbers.  It  was  interesting  to  see 
robins,  woodpeckers,  and  other  birds  now  searching  among  the 
limbs  of  the  trees  for  caterpillars  and  other  insects  ;  fortunately  the 
33 


514  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1834. 

caterpillars  were  prodigiously  numerous.  During  the  summer,  bitu- 
minous coal  was  received  at  Lewisburg  from  the  western  part  of  the 
State,  by  the  canal,  and  sold  at  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel.  At 
Hartleton,  R.  H.  Kerr  was  postmaster  ;  and  J.  H.  Seiwers  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  academy  at  Lewisburg. 

February  2,  Lorenzo  Dow  died  at  Georgetown,  D.  C.  March 
18,  Charles  Sargent  (son  of  John,  inn-keeper,)  found  drowned  be- 
low Brown's  mill.  Has  been  missing  since  the  i6th.  He  was  de- 
deranged.  30th,  Mr.  Hood  preached  his  last  sermon  as  pastor. 
April  10,  John  Moore,  merchant,  of  Lewisburg,  died.  Reverends 
Henry  Tarring  and  Oliver  Ega,  Methodist  ministers  for  this  circuit 
this  year.  April  21,  Joseph  Evans,  of  Lewisburg,  found  drowned 
in  the  canal  at  Selinsgrove.  Job  Harvey,  a  young  preacher  of 
the  Christian  church,  preached  his  funeral  sermon.  May  19,  cor- 
ner-stone of  German  church  in  Lewisburg  laid.  J.  H.  Fries,  pas- 
tor. June  19,  Howard  Vanvalzah,  son  of  Doctor  Thomas,  fell 
from  the  steeple  of  the  new  German  church  to  the  ground,  striking 
the  timbers  as  he  fell,  his  thigh  and  leg  broken.  He. fell  forty-five 
feet.  (He  is  still  living  at  Lewistown.)  June  30,  news  arrived  of 
the  death  of  Reverend  Matthew  Laird  and  his  wife,  missionaries  in 
Africa.  He  died  on  the  4th  of  May,  his  wife  on  the  3d.  Wed- 
nesday, 9th  July,  thermometer  at  ninety-nine  degrees  in  shade. 
July  28,  John  Geary,  an  apprentice  of  David  Ginter,  drowned  at 
the  up])er  landing  in  Lewisburg,  last  night.  November  13,  Pres- 
bytery met  at  Lewisburg,  and  ordained  and  installed  Reverend  P. 
B.  Marr,  pastor  of  that  church.  Sunday,  30th  November,  eclipse 
of  the  sun.  Began  quarter  before  one,  went  off  twenty-five  minutes 
past  three.  During  its  greatest  obscuration  it  became  very  cold,  and 
it  seemed  like  a  bright,  moonlij^ht  night,  and  one  star  was  visible. 

A  nil- School  Meeting. 

Agreeably  to  public  notice,  the  citizens  of  Union  county  opposed 
to  the  school  law  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  met  at 
the  court-house,  in  New  Berlin,  on  Thursday,  the  i8th  September, 
when  Henry  Yearick,  Esquire,  was  called  to  the  chair;  Robert  Tay- 
lor, Esquire,  was  appointed  vice  president ;  and  John  Montelius  and 
John  Snyder  were  appointed  secretaries.     On  motion  of  the  Honor- 


1834.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  515 

able  George  Kremer,  a  committee  of  fifteen  were  appointed  to  draft 
a  preamble  and  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting  ; 
whereupon,  the  following  persons  were  appointed,  viz  : 

George  Kremer,  Peter  Richter,  Doctor  John  G.  Piper,  Frederick 
Pontius,  Abbot  Green,  John  Boyer,  Frederick  Kremer,  John  S. 
Ingram,  George  Schnable,  John  Zigler,  James  Madden,  Henry 
Roush,  Henry  C.  Eyer,  John  Snyder,  John  Reber,  junior. 

After  retiring  a  short  time,  returned  and  reported  the  following, 
which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  at  their  late  session, 
passed  a  law  known  as  the  common  school  law,  the  principles  of 
which  we  consider  dangerous  to  our  rights  and  destructive  of  our 
interests  ;  therefore^  be  it 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  it  behooves  us  to 
use  every  honorable  means  in  our  power  to  procure  a  prompt  repeal 
of  the  law  in  question. 

Resolved,  That  the  chair  appoint  two  persons  from  each  town- 
ship or  borough  in  the  county,  as  the  case  may  be,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  act  as  delegates  for  their  respective  districts,  and  bring 
with  them  the  election  returns,  which  will  take  place  to-morrow,  for 
the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  school  law,  and  report  the  same  to 
this  meeting. 

Resolved,  That  should  a  school  man,  by  mistake,  be  selected  by 
the  chair,  he  shall  be  rejected  by  the  anti-school  delegate  of  that 
district,  &:c.,  who  shall  have  full  power  to  supply  his  place  with  a 
man  opposed  to  the  school  law. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  adjourn  to  meet  again  at  the  court- 
house, in  New  Berlin,  on  Tuesday  next,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  that  the  present  officers  are  again  requested  to  preside,  to 
adopt  further  measures  in  relation  to  this  oppressive  law. 

The  following  persons  were  appointed  by  the  chair,  as  delegates 
from  the  several  townships,  to  meet  in  New  Berlin,  on  Tuesday,  the 
23d  instant,  viz  : 

East  Buffalo — Philip  Ruhl,  Peter  Voneida. 

Lewisburg — William  Hayes,  Jacob  Zentmire. 

Kelly — Laird  Howard,  George  Meixell. 

White  Deer — John  Rank,  Jacob  Sypher. 

Union — John  S.  Ligram,  Michael  Benfer. 


5i6  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  Ll»34. 

Chapman — Frederick  Kremer,  John  Snyder. 
Washington — John  Boyer,  Henry  Hilbish. 
Penn's — Peter  Richter,  George  Miller. 
Perry — George  Shetterly,  senior,  Joseph  Schnee. 
Centre — George  Kremer,  Henry  Bolender. 
Beaver — John  Highley,  John  Shipton. 
Centreville — Stephen  Bruce,  George  Weirick. 
Hartleton — James  Madden,  George  Ruhl. 
West  Buffalo — Robert  Taylor,  John  Reber,  junior. 
Mifflinburg — Henry  Yearick,  John  Montelius. — Times,  Septem- 
ber 19,  1834. 

A  nil- School  Delegate  Meeting. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  anti-school 
meeting  of  the  i8th  instant,  held  at  the  court-house,  in  New  Berlin, 
on  Tuesday  last,  Henry  Yearick,  Esquire,  presided ;  assisted  by 
John  Montelius  and  Captain  John  Snyder,  as  secretaries. 

The  names  of  the  delegates  having  been  called,  the  following 
gentlemen  were  present,  representing  the  different  townships,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Union — John  S.  Ingram,  Michael  Benfer. 

Hartley — James  Madden,  Esquire,  George  Ruhl. 

West  Buffalo — Robert  Taylor,  John  Stees,  junior. 

Mifflinburg — Henry  Yearick,  John  Montelius. 

East  Buffalo — Philip  Ruhl,  Peter  Voneida. 

Lewisburg — George  Schnabel,  Jacob  Zentmire. 

White  Deer — Jacob  Sypher,  Samuel  Baker. 

Kelly — John  Hummel,  Joseph  Spotts. 

Chapman — John  Snyder,  Frederick  Kremer. 

Penn's — Peter  Richter,  George  Miller. 

Perry — George  Shetterly,  Joseph  Schnee. 

Centre — George  Kremer,  Henry  Bolender. 

Beaver — John  Highley,  John  Shipton. 

Washington — John  Boyer,  Henry  Hilbish. 

On  motion  of  James  Madden,  Esquire,  a  committee  of  nine  dele- 
gates were  appointed  by  the  chair  to  draft  a  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions, expressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  delegation. 

Whereupon,  the  chair  appointed  George  Kremer,  John  S.  Ingram, 


1834.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  517 

Peter  Richter,  Henry  Hilbish,  George  Schnabel,  James  Madden, 
Jacob  Sypher,  Philip  Ruhl,  and  John  Reber,  junior. 

The  committee  retired  a  short  time  and  reported  the  following, 
which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Preamble  and  Resolutions. 

Fellow-Citizens  :  Your  committee  view  with  deep  interest  the 
law  of  our  last  Legislature,  creating  a  system  of  education  by  com- 
mon schools.  They  consider  it  as  affecting  the  interests  and  en- 
croaching upon  the  rights  of  the  honest  and  industrious  citizens  of 
the  Commonwealth.  They  view  the  system  as  unwarranted  by  the 
Constitution,  and  at  war  with  the  interests  of  every  useful  member 
of  the  community ;  as  a  system  of  education  was  only  asked,  and 
not  one  of  unjust  and  unequal  taxation.  For  these  reasons,  and 
others,  we  oppose  the  bill,  urging  our  constitutional  objections,  and 
will  merely  here  state  its  local  effects  upon  the  county  of  Union. 

The  $75,000  appropriated  for  common  school  purposes,  of  which 
Union  county  will  be  entitled  to  about  $1,100,  is  a  fund  arising 
from  the  unpatented  lands  in  this  Commonwealth.  Owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  money,  the  law  has,  from  year  to  year,  been  extended  ; 
but  as  this  amount  is  now  appropriated,  and  will  be  drawn  out  of 
the  treasury,  consequently,  all  those  whose  lands  are  unpatented, 
will  now  be  compelled  to  pay,  as  the  finances  of  the  Commonwealth 
will  not  warrant  a  longer  credit.  All  men  know  its  enormous  debt 
and  embarrassed  condition. 

By  the  law  in  question.  Union  county  must  raise  $2,200,  double 
the  amount  of  the  appropriation,  to  entitle  them  to  the  proffer  made 
by  the  Legislature.  To  this  add  our  already  exhorbitant  State  tax, 
of  about  $3,000,  and  we  have  upwards  of  $5,000  to  pay  by  taxa- 
tion, for  merely  receiving  the  bill. 

Agreeable  to  the  law,  the  six  directors  are  to  divide  each  town- 
ship into  as  many  school  districts,  and  build  as  many  school-houses 
as  they  may  think  proper ;  and  this  additional  debt  you  will  be 
bound  to  pay  by  taxation,  which  will  amount  to  at  least  $800  for 
every  township  in  the  county,  making  a  sum  total  of  $17,000,  adding 
the  other  taxes  imposed  by  this  bill. 

To  this  may  be  added  the  teachers.  Suppose  each  township  have 
six  teachers,  who  cannot  be  engaged  at  a  less  expense  than  $250 


I 


5t8 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


[1834. 


per  annum,  each,  making  a  gross  amount  of  $1,500  per  annum  for 
each  township,  the  whole  cost  for  this  purpose  in  the  county  would 
be  $22,500.  Deduct  from  this  the  $1,100  proffered  by  the  Legis- 
lature, and  the  people  have  $21,400  to  pay  for  teachers,  $17,000 
for  buildings,  $2,200  for  accepting  the  proffer — making  a  sum  total 
of  $40,600,  all  to  be  paid  by  the  people  by  various  taxations. 

Resolved,  That  five  persons  be  appointed  a  committee  to  draw 
petitions  to  be  signed  by  the  citizens  of  this  county,  praying  the  Le- 
gislature to  repeal  the  school  law  for  Union  county. 

Resolved,  That  the  chair  appoint  two  persons  in  each  township, 
who  shall  have  authority  to  appoint  as  many  more  as  may  be  neces- 
sary in  each  township  to  solicit  subscribers  to  said  petition. 

Resolved,  That  the  chair  appoint  a  committee  of  five  persons,  a 
corresponding  committee  to  correspond  with  other  committees  in 
this  Commonwealth  to  procure  a  repeal  of  the  school  law  in  this 
Commonwealth. 

On  motion  George  Kremer,  John  S.  Ingram,  and  Philip  Ruhl 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  and  publish  a  petition  for 
a  repeal  of  the  law  in  question. 

The  chair  then  appointed  Peter  Richter,  John  S.  Ingram,  George 
Kremer,  George  Schnabel,  and  John  Reber,  junior,  a  committee 
of  correspondence,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  the  committee 
of  nine. 

On  motion,  it  was  then  Resolved,  That  the  delegates  of  this  con- 
vention act  as  township  committees  to  circulate  and  procure  signers 
to  the  petitions  praying  for  a  repeal  of  the  school  law. 

On  motion  of  John  S.  Ingram,  the  secretary  was  called  upon  to 
report  the  votes  at  the  different  township  elections  held  on  Friday, 
the  19th  instant;  which  was  carried,  and  the  following  result  ex- 
hibited, viz  : 


Aaninst 

For 

Town8li$i>»-               School. 

Hchoi 

T'nioii,     .     . 

.     .       205 

— 

lliirtlf'v, 

]44 

30 

West  I'.uflUlo, 

J  87 

7 

Miniinl)ur<,', 

()7 

41 

Kiist  Hiiflulo, 

K7 

3 

l.cwishurj;, 

55 

71 

White  Deer, 

26 

52 

Kelly,      .     . 

70 

7 

<  JKijiriian,    . 

71 

1 

renii'H,    .     . 

l!t8 

55 

Aaninst      For 

Toicnships.  School.  School. 

Perry, 63  — 

Centre, 170  — 

Beaver, I!i2         — 

Washington, ...        85  — 

1620        267 
267 

Balance  vs.  schoDl,  1353  votes. 


1834.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  sig 


PoHiicai 

Delegates  to  the  4th  of  March  convention,  "  to  oppose  executive 
usurpation,"  Simon  Shaffer,  WiUiam  Cameron,  Ner  Middleswarth, 
WilHam  L.  Harris,  George  Weirick,  and  R.  P.  Maclay. 

Delegate  Meeting. — On  Tuesday  last  the  delegates  from  the  dif- 
ferent townships  of  Union  county,  representing  the  Anti -Masons, 
assembled  at  the  court-house,  in  New  Berlin.  Samuel  Paulding,  of 
Penn's,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Solomon  Engle,  Esquire,  of 
Centre,  appointed  secretary. 

As  soon  as  the  meeting  was  thus  organized,  George  Aurand, 
Esquire,  of  Centre,  rose,  and  moved  that  no  delegate  be  received 
in  this  convention,  unless  he  be  a.  pure  Anti-Mason.  This  motion, 
however,  was  postponed  until  after  the  credentials  had  been  pre- 
sented. 

The  credentials  were  then  presented,  in  regular  order,  which  com- 
prised the  following  delegation : 

Centre — George  Aurand,  Solomon  Engle. 

Union — Henry  Frock,  George  Schnee. 

Mifflinburg — Jacob  Haus,  David  Eckstein. 

Lewisburg — Doctor  I.  S.  Vorse,  G.  F.  Miller. 

East  Buffalo — Peter  Wise,  Robert  Laird. 

West  Buffalo — Samuel  B.  Barber,  John  Kutz. 

Hartley — William  Glover,  Jacob  Snyder. 

Kelly — John  Hummel,  Joseph  Lawson.  * 

Penn's — Samuel  Paulding,  Philip  Gemberliug.  * 

Beaver — Archibald  Thomas,  John  Reger. 

Washington — J.  P.  Hackenberg,  Jacob  Garman. 

Perry — Michael  Gougler,  John  Weimen. 

Cerdreville — Jonathan  Farnsworth,  S.  Bruce. 

The  credentials  being  thus  presented  in  due  order,  when  Lewis- 
burg came  in  turn,  Doctor  Vorse  rose  and  stated  that  a  motion  had 
been  made  to  expel  any  member  of  the  convention  who  was  not  an 
avowed  Anti-Mason.  He  said  he  did  not  wish  to  act  the  hypocrite, 
and  consequently  he  would  inform  the  convention  that  he  was  not 
an  Anti-Mason — that  he  was  an  anti-Jackson  man — that  he  came 
here  to  represent  that  portion  of  the  borough  of  Lewisburg  who 
were  opposed  to  Jackson,  and  that  while  he  would  perform  such 


520  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1834. 

incumbent  duty,  he  wished  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  he 
had  no  claims  to  the  character  of  an  Anti-Mason. 

Mr.  Aurand  then  stated  that  as  he  was  not  a  political  Anti-mason, 
he  would  move  that  he  be  not  permitted  to  occupy  a  seat  in  the 
convention. 

Mr.  Miller,  his  colleague,  then  rose,  and  hoped  that  the  conven- 
tion would  not  act  rashly  on  this  subject ;  that  Doctor  Vorse  was 
not  in  an  individual  capacity,  but  serving  as  the  representative  of 
the  party  in  Lewisburg  ;  that  he  had  his  instructions  and  would 
conform  to  them.     He  hoped  such  a  vote  would  not  be  taken. 

Mr.  Aurand,  however,  persisted  in  the  vote,  which  was  taken,  and 
resulted  as  follows  : 

For  rejection, 23  votes. 

For  retention, 2  votes. 

Doctor  Vorse  was,  therefore,  ejected  from  the  convention.  He 
rose,  and  returned  his  thanks  to  the  meeting  for  their  kind  treatment ; 
and  while  he  expressed  his  regret  at  having  put  the  gentlemen  to  so 
much  trouble,  he  retired  from  any  participation  in  the  proceedings, 
considering  the  decision  a  very  curious  one. 

Mr.  Miller  then  moved  that  Lewisburg  be  entitled  to  a  full  repre- 
sentation, by  suffering  the  remaining  delegate  to  have  two  votes; 
but  on  the  question,  "  Shall  Lewisburg  have  a  full  representation?" 
it  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

The  convention  then  proceeded  to  make  nominations,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  following  ticket : 

For  Congress — Samuel  J.  Packer. 

For  Senate — Robert  P.  Maclay. 

For  Assefnbly — Simon  Shaffer  and  Ner  Middleswarth. 

For  Coroner — Jacob  Aurand  and  Daniel  Winter. 

For  Commissioner — James  Harrison. 

For  Auditor — Jacob  H.  Hummel. 

For  Trustees — Israel  Gutelius,  John  Kutz,  and  Samuel  Wright. 

Mr.  Aurand  then  offered  the  following  resolution ;  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  address  James  Mer- 
rill, Esquire,  on  the  subject  of  Masonry,  and  to  request  an  explana- 
tion on  that  subject,  in  terms  which  he  may  think  most  proper. 


1834.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  521 

Whereupon  the  chair  appointed  George  Aurand,  J.  P.  Hackenberg, 
and  J.  H.  Horning,  Esquires. 

On  motion,  William  Glover  and  George  F.  Miller  were  appointed 
conferees,  to  meet  other  congressional  conferees  at  Milton. 

On  motion,  David  Eckstein  and  Solomon  Engle,  Esquire,  were 
appointed  senatorial  conferees,  to  meet  similar  conferees  at  Lewisburg. 

The  following  persons  were  then  appointed  a  standing  committee 
for  the  ensuing  year,  viz  :  Jacob  Fryer,  Jacob  Haus,  Joseph  Lawson, 
Matthew  Brewer,  S.  Weirick,  George  Schnee,  and  Jacob  Snyder. 

It  was  then 

Resolved,  That  the  convention  adjourn,  and  that  the  proceedings 
be  published  in  all  the  papers. — Times,  August  8. 

Democratic  Convention. 

On  Tuesday  last,  the  following  delegates,  from  the  different  town- 
ships of  Union  county,  met  at  the  court-house,  in  New  Berlin,  to 
form  a  ticket  for  support  at  the  next  general  election,  viz  : 

Union — Jacob  Spangler,  Jesse  Beaver. 

Bujfalo — Hugh  Wilson,  junior,  Samuel  Reber. 

West  Buffalo — Robert  Taylor,  Thomas  Forster. 

Penn's — C.  M.  Straub,  Isaac  Hottenstein. 

Chapman — John  Snyder,  Philip  Herold. 

Mifflinburg — Michael  Schoch,  Thomas  McCurdy. 

Lewisburg — John  Nesbit,  Joseph  Hutchinson. 

Centre — George  Kremer,  John  Bower. 

Hartley — George  Roush,  Andrew  Cook. 

Beaver — George  Swartz,  Thomas  Youngman. 

Perry — Philip  Benner,  George  Shetterly. 

Kelly — Alexander  McClure,  John  Young. 

White  Deer — Samuel  Baker,  William  Mackey. 

The  convention  was  organized  by  electing  Captain  Alexander  Mc- 
Clure, president;  Robert  Taylor,  Esquire,  vice  president,  and  Joseph 
Hutchinson,  secretary. 

On  motion,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  no  candidate,  for  any  office,  should  be  considered 
nominated,  who  had  not  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  of  the  delegates 
present. 


I 


522 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


[1834. 


The  following  nominations  of  candidates  were  then  made,  and  re- 
sulted as  follows  :  Senator,  Isaac  Slenker.  Assembly,  Captain  Jacob 
Hummel  and  James  McClure.  Commissioner,  Peter  Beaver.  Auditor, 
Martin  Dreisbach.  Coroner,  Jacob  McCorley.  Trustees  of  the  Mif- 
flinburg  Academy,  Philip  Pontius,  Samuel  Barber,  and  William  Ir- 
win.—  Times,  August  15. 


OFFICIAL  ELECTION  BETURNS. 

CONG'SS. 

SENATE. 

ASSEMBLY. 

SHERI'F 

Districts. 

c3 

>, 

, 

9 

%         w 

0 

Si 

■3 

3 
0 

a 

a 

a? 

i 

a 
S 

a 
!5 

c 

rt 

<a 

03 

0 

3 

g 

93 

< 

Ph 

CO 

§ 

s 

w 

g 

00 

0 
207 

M 

TJnion, 

216 

120 

241 

88 

150 

220 

188 

101 

142 

White  Deer,    . 

P3 

47 

105 

311 

55 

79 

79 

551 

95 

47 

Kellv,      .     .    . 

45 

43 

64 

24 

21 

56 

74 

34' 

61 

22 

Lewi.sbiir^, 

105 

55 

134 

17 

100 

85 

73 

45 

125 

27 

East  Enffalo,   . 

1581  lB7j 

148 

123] 

186 

122 

174 

96 

123 

148 

West  Buffalo, 

117!    8'r 

114 

78' 

101 

90 

106 

104 

135 

66 

Miffiinburg,     . 

86 

48 

75 

56 

88 

78 

41 

58 

84 

34 

Hartley,  .     .     . 

192 

112 

191 

99! 

153 

169 

138 

132 

230 

80 

Centreville,     . 

6 

73 

5 

73 

12 

7 

71 

66 

25 

60 

Penn's,    .     .     . 

254    124 

233 

141 

148 

233 

216 

143 

281 

133 

Centre,    .     .     . 

76    171 

55 

189 

61 

77 

181 

173 

69 

187 

Beaver,   .    ,     . 

6] 

242 

49 

253 

33 

76 

249 

247 

99 

230 

Washington,    . 

109 

68 

100 

76 

95 

102 

82 

78 

122 

73 

Chapman,    .     . 

115 

31 

102 

321 

108 

120 

31 

24 

122 

29 

Perry,      .     .     . 

82     41| 

84      40 

78 

85 

.  42 

40 

88 

46 

Total 1716  1398 

1700  1320 

1389 

1599 

1745 

1396 

1866 

1324 

Honorable  Joseph  B.  Anthony  was  elected  to  Congress  in  the 
district  composed  of  Union,  Northumberland,  and  Lycoming,  by  a 
majority  of  2,218,  and  Mr.  Slenker  in  the  district  composed  of 
Union  and  Northumberland,  by  a  majority  of  1602.  September 
12,  John  S.  Ingram  retires  from  the  Times,  and  James  M.  Kuester 
took  charge.  He  retired  December  19,  and  Gabriel  Yearick  became 
editor. 


1835- 


Debate  in  the  Lewisburg  Temperance  Society — Colonel  Kelly's  Monu- 
ment Erected  with  Imposing  Ceremonies — Fourth  of  July  Celebra- 
tions. 

HE  winter  of  1834  and  1835  was  very  severe.    On  Shade 

mountain,  a  pack  of  twenty  wolves  were  found  frozen 

after  the  melting  of  the  snow.     They  appeared  to  have 

huddled  together,  perhaps  exhausted  with  a  long  march, 

and  perished  of  cold  and  hunger. 

On  Friday  evening,  the  13th  of  February,  the  Lewisburg  Tem- 
perence  society  again  met,  and  resumed  the  discussion  of  the  pro- 
priety of  adopting  the  resolution,.  "  that  the  distillation  and  vendi- 
tion of  ardent  spirits,  as  a  drink,  is  morally  wrong,"  which,  it  must 
be  known,  had  been  discussed  before  by  the  society,  and  adopted 
by  a  majority  of  four  votes ;  but  the  opponents  of  the  resolution, 
not  being  satisfied  with  the  proceedings,  on  account  of  illegal  votes 
having  been  taken,  as  they  alleged,  it  was,  therefore,  agreed  by  both 
parties  to  re-consider  the  resolution. 

The  debate  was  held  in  the  Methodist  church.  Mr.  Merrill,  Mr. 
Marr,  and  Mr.  Aiken  for  affirmative.  General  Green,  Doctor 
Joyce,  Mr.  Barber,  and  James  P.  Ross  in  the  negative. 

The  first  resolution  :  Resolved,  That  the  distilling  and  vending 
of  ardent  spirits,  as  a  drink,  is  morally  wrong.  Second,  that  it  is 
expedient  that  the  temperance  societies  of  Pennsylvania  adopt  the 
above  resolution. 

The  vote  on  the  first,  yeas,  70  ;  nays,  36.  Second,  yeas,  58 ; 
nays,  30. 

523 


524  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1835. 

February  24,  Isaac  G.  Jones  admitted  to  the  bar.^  AP''il  8,  the 
monument  to  the  memory  of  Colonel  John  Kelly  was  erected  with 
impressive  ceremonies,  in  the  Presbyterian  burial-ground,  in  the 
borough  of  Lewisburg.  A  company  of  cavalry  from  Northumber- 
land county,  one  from  Union,  with  three  infantry  companies,  par- 
ticipated. Abbot  Green  was  grand  marshal,  with  Michael  Brobst, 
General  R.  H.  Hammond,  Colonel  Philip  Ruhl,  and  Doctor  J.  S. 
Dougal  as  aids.  The  procession  was  formed  by  the  adjutant.  Colo- 
nel Jackson  McFadden,  with  the  military,  in  front,  followed  by 
the  revolutionary  soldiers  and  citizens  ;  after  whom  came  the  monu- 
ment, drawn  by  four  gray  horses,  flanked  by  cavalry ;  then  the  mar- 
shal and  aids,  preceding  the  orator,  clergy,  and  relatives ;  lastly, 
the  ladies,  and  a  section  of  cavalry  brought  up  the  rear.  On  its  ar- 
rival at  the  ground,  the  cavalry  were  stationed  outside  the  burial- 
ground,  and  the  infantry  formed  a  square  about  the  grave,  inclosing 
the  relatives,  clergy,  &c.  The  monument  was  set  by  the  architects, 
William  Hubbard,  F.  Stoughton,  Samuel  Hursh,  and  Charles  Penny  ; 
after  which  the  grand  marshal  performed  the  rites  of  dedication, 
and  James  Merrill,  Esquire,  delivered  an  oration. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April,  Mr.  Hood  preached  his  farewell  sermon  to 
the  Milton  congregation,  and  on  the  19th,  to  the  Buffalo  congrega- 
tion, thus  closing  with  the  latter  a  pastorate  of  thirty-one  years. 
On  the  3d  of  May,  Reverend  Isaac  Grier  succeeded  him  at  Buffalo 
Cross-Roads.  On  the  31st  of  May,  the  German  church  in  Lewis- 
burg was  dedicated.     A  great  number  of  people  in  attendance. 

The  4th  of  July  was  celebrated  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  by  a  meet- 
ing, at  which  Colonel  Philip  Ruhl  presided  and  James  D.  Cham- 
berlin  acted  as  secretary.  Colonel  Henry  Noll  delivered  an  oration, 
and  James  C.  McCreight  read  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  citizens  of  New  Berlin  and  Hartleton  united  in  a  celebration  at 
Mififlinburg.  James  A.  Cummings  was  grand  marshal,  and  there 
was  a  grand  parade,  in  which  Captain  Forster's  infantry,  the  Jack- 
son guards,  and  the  Lafayette  troop,  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Eilert,  took  part. 

A  fourth  of  July  sentiment,  of  a  partisan  character,  appeared  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  Mifflinburg  celebration,  contrary  to  an  under- 

Isaac  G^.  Jones,  Esquire,  moved  to  Beaver,  Pennsylvania,  where  ho  practioed 
law  until  his  death,  March  30,  1^53. 


1835.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY.  525 

Standing  that  all  political  toasts  should  be  suppressed.  It  appeared 
among  the  proceedings,  and  was  published  accordingly.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  toast : 

By  J.  H.  Fries :  Democrats,  Jackson,  and  Anti-Bank  men  of 
Pennsylvania,  will  you,  or  can  you,  suffer  to  be  beaten  after  such  a 
glorious  victory  as  you  achieved  in  1834?  Lay  all  personal  and 
family  desires  aside,  and  think  on  the  true  and  faithful  saying : 
"  United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall." 

Miliiary  Election. 

Abbot  Green,  Esquire,  of  Lewisburg,  in  this  county,  was,  a  few 
days  ago,  elected  to  the  honorable  station  of  major  general  of  this 
division.  We  believe  this  selection  has  given  general  satisfaction. 
Henry  Noll  was  elected  colonel ;  Samuel  Reber,  lieutenant  colonel ; 
John  Gundy  and  George  Roush,  junior,  majors  of  the  forty-third 
regiment. —  Times,  July  6. 

At  September  court,  politics  were  lively  in  New  Berlin.  A  Wolf 
meeting  was  held  on  Monday,  a  Muhlenburg  meeting  on  Tuesday, 
and  a  Ritner  meeting  on  Wednesday.  September  24,  John  Sargent 
and  family  left  Lewisburg,  moving  eight  miles  west  of  Meadville. 
November  27,  an  explosion  occurred  in  Charles  F.  Schaffle's  drug 
store  at  Lewisburg,  in  which  he  was  badly  burned.  December  24, 
Beck's  tannery  burned  down. 


I 


i§36- 


Political  Appointments — Accidknt  on  the  Fourth  of  Julv. 

INTER  of  1835-6  was  very  severe;  snow  frequently 
over  twelve  inches  deep,  and  the  river  frozen  to  the 
depth  of  two  or  three  feet.  Joseph  Ritner  having  been 
elected  Governor,  appoints  his  friends  to  office.  Robert 
P.  Maclay  succeeding  Joseph  Stillwell  as  prothonotary,  and  George 
Aurand  succeeding  Samuel  Roush  as  register  and  recorder.  Ner 
Middleswarth  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
On  the  1st  of  April,  the  Lewisburg,  Penn's  Valley,  and  HoUidays- 
burg  railroad  was  incorporated,  and  on  the  i6th  of  June  an  act  was 
passed  re-districting  the  State.  Juniata,  Mifflin,  and  Union  a  dis- 
trict, entitled  to  three  members. 

May  23,  James  Reasoner  died.  He  had  hitched  his  horse  to  a 
post  in  Hartleton  ;  the  horse  frightened  and  pulled  out  the  post, 
and  Mr.  Reasoner,  in  trying  to  catch  the  horse,  was  struck  with  the 
swinging  post,  and  died  from  the  effects.  James  McClune  com- 
menced his  classical  school  in  Lewisburg. 

1 6th  June,  Charles  de  Haas,  engineer,  commenced  surveying  the 
Lewisburg,  Penn's  Valley,  and  HoUidaysburg  railroad.  He  ran  his 
line  up  Cherry  alley,  Lewisburg. 

4th  of  July  celebration  terminated  unfortunately.  Towards  even- 
ing, a  party  were  firing  a  cannon  at  the  foot  of  St.  John  street. 
They  had  fired  twice,  when,  in  the  act  of  ramming  the  third  charge, 
it  exploded.  Joseph  McCool  had  his  right  hand  blown  off,  and  his 
arm  had  to  be  amputated  below  the  elbow.  John  Bower  lost  his 
two  forefingers.     Peter  Bower  had  his  thumb  torn  off. 

August  24,    Kirkham,   the   grammarian,  delivered  a  lecture   in 

Lewisburg. 

S2b 


1837.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  527 

October  5,  heavy  snow-storm  ;  one  and  a  half  feet  deep  in  Penn's 
valley  and  on  Buffalo  and  White  Deer  mountains. 

November  4,  James  Merrill,  Esquire,  and  William  P.  Maclay, 
elected  Senatorial  delegates,  and  William  L.  Harris,  Ephraim  Banks, 
and  John  Cummin,  Representative  delegates  to  the  Convention  to 
propose  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State. 


183^- 


First    Abolition   Lecture    in    the    Valley — Shows — Report    of    the 
Union  County  Agricultural  Society. 


EBRUARY  5th,  Philip  Rorabaugh  buried  in  the  German 
grave-yard,  at  Lewisburg,  with  military  honors,  aged 
eighty-five.  He  was  a  hero  of  three  wars,  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  whisky  insurrection,  and  the  war  of  181 2. 
March  15,  Mrs.  Dunlap's  house,  on  Buffalo  creek,  a  mile  below 
Chamberlin's  mill,  was  burned  last  night ;  Sally  Gray  and  her  son, 
(both  deranged,)  John  Young,  about  seventeen  years  old,  and  a  son 
of  Joseph  G.  Wallace,  eight  years  old,  burned.  There  were  eight 
in  the  house  :  four  escaped. 

April  17,  Doctor  Thomas  Vanvalzah,  and  others,  left  the  Valley 
to  settle  in  Illinois.  This  was  the  start  of  an  emigration  which  has 
made  Stephenson  county,  Illinois,  a  counterpart  of  Buffalo  Valley. 
November  10,  Miller  McKim  delivered  his  first  lecture  in  Lewis- 
burg on  the  abolition  of  slavery.  On  the  14th  there  was  a  meeting 
which,  upon  a  motion  made  to  determine  whether  McKim  should 
be  allowed  to  speak,  ended  suddenly  in  a  small  riot. 

Sho-ms. 

Shows  have  changed  in  character  with  the  increase  of  population. 
Welsh  &  Purdy's  came  through  the  county.  They  have  collected 
upwards  of  one  hundred  beasts,  birds,  and  reptiles,  in  a  great  cara- 


L 


S28  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1837. 

van  of  wagons  ;  have  an  excellent  band  of  musicians,  and  held  their 
exhibition  under  a  huge  pavilion,  capable  of  containing  five  thousand 
people.  It  is  quite  a  grand  spectacle  to  see  them  entering  New  Ber- 
lin. In  front  marches  the  elephant,  clad  in  red  housings,  with  a 
lofty  saddle,  on  which  are  mounted  two  musicians ;  next,  came  a 
band  of  musicians,  mounted  upon  gray  horses,  gaily  caparisoned, 
followed  by  a  train  of  wagons,  containing  the  animals.  The  whole 
establishment  embraced  one  hundred  horses,  all  grays,  and  eighty 
men.  The  hotels  were  open  before  daylight,  and  people  gathered 
in  from  the  country  as  soon  as  it  was  light.  The  largest  room  in  the 
house  was  thrown  open  for  dancing,  and  the  fiddles  only  ceased  with 
the  news  of  the  entrance  of  the  procession,  to  be  resumed  after  the 
procession,  and  continued  until  the  call  for  dinner. 

Union  County  Agricultural  Society. 

It  is  with  regret  that  we  notice  so  late  the  reports  of  three  com- 
mittees of  this  society,  made  on  the  20th  of  October.  They  were 
the  reports  of  the  committee  on  grain,  on  hogs,  and  on  butter  and 
cheese.  The  way  in  which  these  reports  came  to  be  omitted  in  the 
report  published  in  the  Union  Times,  of  the  4th  instant,  was,  that 
they  were  handed  to  the  former  treasurer,  who  supposed  that  they 
would  be  called  for,  and  the  present  treasurer,  not  knowing  that  such 
reports  existed,  they  were  omitted  to  be  laid  before  the  committee 
on  premiums.  Consequently,  the  articles  recommended  in  those 
reports  as  worthy  of  premiums  had  no  premiums  awarded  them  out 
of  the  funds  appropriated  for  that  purpose.  These  reports  are  now 
noticed,  because  it  is  due  to  the  producers  of  the  articles  noticed  in 
them.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted,  that  the  funds  of  the  society  will 
not  afford  them  the  premiums  they  merited.  The  following  is  an 
abstract  of  the  reports  : 

The  committee  on  grain  reported,  that  John  Wilt,  of  Hartley  town- 
ship, produced  evidence  of  the  best  yield  of  wheat  per  acre,  accord- 
ing to  the  quality  of  the  soil,  having  raised  thirty-Jive  bushels  off  an 
acre,  selected  out  of  a  field  of  about  eight  acres,  the  wheat  having 
been  cultivated  alike.  They  report  the  soil  as  being  of  second-rate 
land — a  gravel  shale — adjacent  to  limestone  soil. 

That  Colonel  Samuel  Barber,  of  West  Buffalo  township,  exhibited 


1837.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  ^^9 

evidence  of  the  next  best  specimen  of  wheat,  having  raised  forty 
bushels  oft'  an  acre,  selected  out  of  a  field  containing  eleven  acres, 
all  cultivated  alike.  That  the  soil  is  of  first  rate  limestone.  Con- 
sidering the  quality  of  the  soil,  the  committee  awarded  the  first 
premium  to  Mr.  Wilt,  and  to  Colonel  Barber  the  second.  The 
committee  also  considered  Colonel  Barber  worthy  of  a  premium  for 
the  best  specimen  of  summer  wheat.  Francis  Wilson's  corn,  being 
seventy  bushels  of  shelled  corn  to  an  acre,  was  also  deemed  worthy 
of  a  premium.  The  committee  also  notice  in  terms  of  commenda- 
tion Mr.  Wilt's  yield  of  corn ;  as  also  Philip  Seebold's  grapes;  Sam- 
uel Templeton's  potatoes,  having  yielded  eighty  bushels  per  quarter 
of  an  acre,  (one  single  potato  weighing  four  and  three  quarter 
pounds;)  Mrs.  Merrill's  sugar-beet,  and  Mrs.  Shroyer's  red-beet, 
and  Mrs.  Schoch's  cabbage.  To  some  of  these  small  premiums  are 
recommended,  especially  Mr.  Seebold's  grapes. 

The  committee  on  hogs  awarded  to  John  Clemmens  a  premium 
for  the  best  breed  of  hogs,  considering  their  size  and  age. 

The  committee  on  butter  and  cheese  recommended  a  specimen  of 
butter  exhibited  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Pontius,  as  of  a  superior  quality, 
both  in  color  and  taste. 

Joseph  StilWell,  Recording  Secretary. 

Philadelphia  Prices  Current,  October  2\,  1837 — Grain:  Wheat, 
Pennsylvania,  bushel,  ^i  55  ;  Rye,  80;  Corn,  yellow,  93  ;  Barley, 
inferior,  83  ;  Oats,  35  to  38.  Spirits  :  Whisky,  rye,  33  ;  hogsheads, 
31.     Wool:  American,  full  blood,  lb.  50  to  63. 

At  the  October  election,  Yearick,  for  Assembly,  received  1,381 
votes  in  Union  county;  Boyer,  opposition,  1,666. 


34 


L 


38. 


Locust  Year — Buckshot  War. 

]HIS  is  the  "  locust  year."  I  saw  and  heard  them  for  the 
first  time  this  year  on  the  17th  of  June,  and  the  last  of 
them  were  heard  in  the  last  week  of  July.  They  were 
very  numerous,  and  most  of  the  oak  trees  in  this  neigh- 
borhood bear  witness  of  their  labors ;  the  present  year's  shoots  of 
the  branches  being  killed  by  the  punctures  this  creature  makes  in 
laying  its  eggs.  The  common  opinion  is  that  they  re-appear  every 
fourteen  years,  (some  say  seventeen,)  but  I  incline  to  think  they  are 
by  no  means  regular  in  their  visits.  The  first  time  I  saw  them  was 
in  1804,  when  they  were  very  numerous  about  Selinsgrove.  In  the 
year  181 7,  I  saw  them  at  Princeton,  N.  J.  ;  in  1821,  at  Sunbury  ; 
at  Selinsgrove,  in  1832  ;  and,  lastly,  here,  (Alilton.)  A  gentleman 
who  had  a  contract  on  the  canal  in  1827-28-29,  informed  me  that  the 
laborers  frequently  dug  up  this  insect  in  the  aurelia  state,  in  the  flats. 
Their  size  diminished  according  to  the  depth  beneath  the  surface. 
Some  were  found  at  the  depth  of  four  feet,  and  were  small,  soft, 
and  entirely  white.  They  do  not  make  their  appearance  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  at  the  same  period. — G.  A.  S. 

To  the  Electors  of  the  District  composed  of  the  counties  of  Union, 
Juniata,  and  Mifflin  :  * 

Fellow-Citizens  :  I  have  been  in  a  deplorable  situation  for  eight 
or  ten  days  past.     I  was  elected  your  representative.    As  such,  I  am 

'This  communication  was  published  as  an  extra  of  the  Union  Times,  Wednesday, 
December,  19,  and  gives  Mr.  Montelius'  reasons  lor  withdrawing  from  his  party 
organization  at  that  interesting  epocli  in  Pennsylvania  political  history,  known  as 
the  "  JJuckshot  War,"  causing  a  collapse  of  Thaddeus  Stevens'  "  Kump  Legisla- 
ture," as  it  was  called.  Mr.  Montelius  was  commissioned  associate  judge  of  Union 
county,  February  27,  1845,  by  G^overnor  Shunk,  and  died  at  Millliuburg,  March  31, 
1864,  aged  eighty  years  two  months  and  twenty-three  days. 

530 


18:58.]  ANNALS  OF  DLFFALO  VALLEY.  531 

bound  faithfully  to  discharge  my  duty  to  you,  to  myself,  to  God, 
and  my  country.  You  are  already  informed  that  there  were  two 
Speakers  elected  on  the  4th  instant,  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
With  the  information  I  had,  and  the  advice  of  the  friends  in  whom 
I  confided,  I  was  induced  to  act  here  with  the  party  who  profess  the 
same  principles  with  those  of  my  constituents  who  nominated  and 
elected  me.  But  full  information,  cool  and  deliberate  reflection, 
and  warnings  of  my  conscience,  have  convinced  me  that  my  party 
friends  here  have  mistaken  their  course,  and  that,  as  a  faithful  rep- 
resentative, and  an  honest  man,  I  was  bound  to  retrace  my  steps, 
do  what  I  conscientiously  believed  to  be  right,  and  trust  to  the  im- 
partiality of  your  judgment,  upon  a  full  and  fair  examination  of  all 
the  facts.  Finding  my  political  friends  had  done  wrong,  according 
to  my  judgment,  I  withdrew  from  them  immediately,  and  have 
waited  for  several  days  to  give  them  time  to  retrace  their  steps,  and 
to  allow  all  concerned  to  arrange,  peaceably  and  justly,  the  unhappy 
difference  that  had  arisen  ;  but  finding  this  has  not  been  accom- 
plished, I  have  nothing  left  for  me  but  to  do  that  which  I  believe  to 
be  right,  and  leave  to  those  who  would  destroy  our  beloved  State 
the  consequence  of  their  rashness.  Do  not  think  I  have  acted  rashly. 
The  step  I  have  taken  was  taken  deliberately  and  coolly,  and  in 
obedience  to  my  understanding  of  the  constitution  and  laws  of  our 
dear  country.  I  am  for  peace.  "  Es  wird  meiner  seek  baiige  zu 
tvohncn  bey  denen  die  den  frieden  hassen.'"  And  I  hope  the  course 
I  have  taken  may  help  to  save  our  beloved  Pennsylvania  from  blood- 
shed and  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  The  great  question  is  whether 
the  majority  shall  rule,  and  upon  this  question  I  know  you  all  think 
with  me.  Now,  all  I  have  done  has  been  done  with  an  honest  desire 
to  carry  out  this  great  principle  in  our  free  government,  that  the 
minority  must  yield  to  the  majority.  i\nd  I  am  certain  not  one  of 
you,  however  strong  a  party  man  lie  may  be,  will  blame  me  for 
maintaining  this  principle.  My  constituents,  particularly  in  Union 
county,  all  know  mc,  and  I  beg  of  them  all,  before  they  condemn 
me,  fully  and  coolly  to  examine  the  facts.  I  have  not,  in  this  in- 
stance, acted  as  a  party  man,  but  I  have  acted  honestly,  and  accord- 
ing to  my  conscience. 

In  joining  with  my  party  friends  in  organizing  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives,  with  the  eight    Philadelphia   county  members   of  the 


532  ANNALS   OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1838. 

Whig  party,  I  thought  these  had  been  elected  by  the  majority  of  the 
votes  of  the  county,  and  had  been  returned  by  a  majority  of  the 
judges,  but  I  soon  found  that  this  was  not  true,  and  that  the  eight 
members  of  the  opposition  party  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia,  had 
been  elected  by  a  majority  of  about  five  hundred  votes  in  the  whole 
county,  and  had  been  returned  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  judges. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  Secretary  of  the  State  kept  back  these 
returns,  which  I  think  was  wrong.  Under  these  circumstances,  I 
could  not  continue  to  act  with  men  who  had  no  right  to  their  seats, 
no  more  than  my  opponent  had  to  mine.  You  would  not,  as  honest 
men,  ask  me  to  sanction  so  bad  a  principle,  and  it  is  that  I  know 
your  honesty  that  I  have  joined  those  who  have  been* fairly  elected 
by  the  majority.  My  party  opinions  and  principles  have  not 
changed,  and  my  future  course  will  show  that  I  am  true  to  those 
principles.  On  your  calm  judgment  I  rely.  What  I  have  done  has 
been  done  for  what  I  believe  to  be  your  interest,  and  is  approved 
by  my  conscience. 

I  remain  your  friend, 

John  Montelius. 

Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  17,  1838. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  Messrs.  Butler  and  Sturdevant,  of 
Luzerne,  and  Mr.  Montelius,  of  Union,  appeared  in  the  House, 
over  which  Mr.  Hopkins  was  presiding,  and,  after  some  remarks  by 
Mr.  Butler,  explanatory  of  their  course,  were  duly  sworn  as  mem- 
bers, thus  ending  the  contest. 


1839- 


Aurand's  Hotel  Burned — Politics— Obituary  Notice  of  Reverend  J. 

H.  Fries. 

ANUARY  15,  David  R.  Porter  proclaimed  Governor. 
February  19,  Samuel  Aurand's  hotel,  at  New  Berlin, 
burned.  It  was  court  week,  and  the  house  full  of  law- 
yers, jurors,  suitors,  and  witnesses.  Some  made  narrow 
escapes,  with  the  loss  of  their  clothing,  as  the  fire  broke  out  in  the 
night,  when  all  were  abed.  April  5,  John  Egbert's  stp,ble,  at  Lewis- 
burg,  burned,  with  his  horse  and  cow.  This  was  followed  by  the 
burning  of  Alexander  Graham's  and  a  number  of  others,  caused  by 
incendiaries. 

The  Times,  August  21,  publishes  the  following  as  the  "Demo- 
cratic-Republican Anti-Bank  ticket :  Assembly,  Doctor  Isaac  Hot- 
tenstine ;  Prothonotary,  Samuel  Roush;  Register  and  Recorder, 
Robert  Forster;  Commissioner,  George  A.  Snyder;  Auditor,  Jacob 
Wittenmyer;  Trustees  of  the  Mifflinburg  Academy,  Colonel  Samuel 
Barber,  John  Hilbish,  and  Charles  Pellman  ;  and  the  following  as 
the  "Abolition  United  States  Bank  ticket:"  Assembly,  John  A. 
Vanvalzah;  Prothonotary,  Jacob  H.  Horning;  Register  and  Re- 
corder, John  Glover ;  Commissioner,  Henry  Hilbish ;  Auditor, 
Samuel  Pawling;  Trustees,  Samuel  B.  Barber,  James  Simington,  and 
David  Watson.  Anti-Masonic  candidate  for  Register  and  Recorder, 
David  Schwenck.  At  the  October  election,  Vanvalzah's  vote  was 
1,577.  Average  majority  of  his  colleagues  on  the  ticket  in  Union 
county,  277. 

In  October,  the  banks  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  suspended 

533 


534  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1839. 


specie  payme;it,  and  the  Northumberland  bank  was  compelled  to 
follow.  The  directors  of  the  latter  bank,  John  Walls,  Alexander 
Jordan,  John  Taggert,  &c.,  however,  published  a  card,  in  which 
they  pledged  their  individual  responsibility  that  all  its  issues  should 
ultimately  be  made  good. 

October  3,  grew  on  the  farm  of  Samuel  Zellers,  in  East  Buffalo 
township,  two  pumpkins  on  one  vine,  one  measuring  two  feet  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  two  feet  five  inches  in  length,  and  weighs 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds;  the  other  measures  six  feet  eleven 
inches  in  circumference,  and  weighs  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
pounds. 

November  19,  Absalom  Swineford,  Esquire,  admitted  to  the  bar. 
On  the  8th  of  December,  the  new  Lutheran  and  Reformed  church, 
at  the  place  of  the  old  Dreisbach  church,  in  Buffalo  township,  was 
dedicated.  The  building  committee  were  John  Sheckler,  Samuel 
Reber,  Peter  Engel,  and  Jacob  Ritter. 

Obituary. 

Just  Henry  Juries  died  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  9th  of  Octo- 
ber, aged  sixty-two  years  five  months  and  sixteen  days.  For  some 
years  before  his  death,  he  was  deprived  of  his  sight,  but  his  astonish- 
ing memory  enabled  him  to  give  out  the  hymns  in  full,  and  preach 
with  a  precision  for  which  he  was  always  noted.  He  refused  to  take 
medicine  in  his  last  illness,  saying  he  wished  to  die  in  the  full  pos- 
session of  his  senses.  His  disease  was  of  a  very  singular  character. 
In  July  he  cut  a  corn  on  his  toe,  mortification  took  place,  spreading 
gradually,  with  intense  pain,  to  his  knee.  Here  it  remained  seated 
in  his  knee,  the  pain  having  nearly  ceased,  when  suddenly  it  com- 
menced spreading,  and  affected  his  whole  body.  He  is  buried  in 
the  Mifflinburg  grave-yard.  The  grave-yard  lies  along  a  slope, 
somewhat  elevsited  above  the  town,  which  lies  immediately  in  front; 
beyond  it,  west  and  east,  extends  one  of  the  finest  valleys  in  Penn- 
sylvania. To  the  west,  in  the  distance,  are  the  jutting  knobs ;  and 
to  the  north,  the  broad,  blue  side  of  the  mountains,  with  quiet 
nooks  between ;  and  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  in  the  north-east, 
are  the  breaks  in  the  mountains,  with  the  broad  levels  between, 
which  indicate  the  course  of  the  noble  Susquehanna.     Thus  does 


1839.]  AANALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  S35 

his  quiet  grave  still  overlook  the  wide  scene  of  his  labors,  while  he 
has  gone  to  await  the  final  issues  of  his  care,  as  they  shall  gather 
around  him  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

Mr.  Fries  was  remarkably  open,  honest,  and  true.  His  word 
could  be  depended  upon.  He  hated  all  sham  and  hypocrisy  to 
such  a  degree  that  he  was  constantly  in  danger  of  falling  into  a 
blunt  frankness,  without  giving  due  attention  to  that  suavity  of 
manner,  which  is  to  an  open  heart  what  the  fragrance  is  to  an  open 
flower.     He  was  fearless  in  preaching.^ 

He  was  unnecessarily  open  and  free  with  his  political  views.  He 
not  only  argued  readily  on  this  subject  in  private  circles,  but  often 
introduced  political  matters,  with  more  or  less  plainness,  into  the 
pulpit,  referring  even  to  candidates  and  parties.  He  also  wrote 
numerous  articles  for  the  papers  during  the  heat  of  contests,  anony- 
mously, it  is  true,  yet  still  so  that  their  parentage  was  recognized  by 
many.  This  was  one  of  his  weaknesses,  which  his  friends  always 
regretted,  but  which  he  was  never  able  to  see  in  its  true  light.  He 
was  very  kind  hearted,  which  he  manifested  in  great  affection  towards 
his  family  and  in  kindnesses  to  his  friends.  His  labors  in  the  min- 
istry were  very  extensive,  and  the  complete  statistics  of  his  services 
show  an  astonishing  result,  &c. — HarbaugK s  Fathers. 

He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Catherine  Groff,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children  ;  second,  to  Susanna  Groff,  by  whom  he  had  eleven. 
Judge  Henry  W.  Fries,  late  of  Lewisburg,  now  of  Iowa,  is  his  son. 

'I  have  often  heard  quoted  a  remark  he  made  in  a  sermon  in  Brush  Valley: 
"Money  rules  the  world,  but  ignorance  rules  Brush  valley."— ii/m. 


^m 


i§40. 


Weather  Eecord — State  Road  from  Heberling's  to  Elk  Creek,  Cen- 
tre County,  Located — Census  of  1840. 

ANUARY  — ,  the  deep  snows  of  this  winter,  followed  by 
intensely  cold  weather,  drove  the  wolves  down  from 
Shade  and  Jack's  mountain.  A  pack  of  thirteen  attacked 
and  destroyed  an  ox  near  Beavertown.  Friday,  January 
i6,  was  called  the  "cold  Friday,"  thermometer  being  seventeen 
degrees  below  zero.  On  the  loth  of  February  the  ice  broke  in  the 
river,  and  passed  off,  and  on  the  4th  of  December  the  first  snow  of 
the  succeeding  winter  fell. 

The  following  is  the  result  of  the  elections  held  on  the  5th  March, 
in  the  borough  and  township,  for  and  against  the  common  school : 

Borough  of  New  Berlin. 

For  the  school, 64 

Against  the  school, 31 

Majority  in  favor  of  the  school, 33 

Union  Township. 

Against  the  school, 154 

For  the  school, 12 

Majority  against  the  school, 142 

May  26,  the  commissioners,  Anthony  Wolfe,  of  Centre  county, 
Henry  Noll,  of  Union,  and  Jacob  Stitzel  of  Northumberland,  com- 

53(> 


1840.] 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


537 


menced  locating  the  State  road  from  Heberling's  mill,  in  West 
Buffalo  township,  to  Elk  creek,  in  Miles  township,  Centre  county, 
through  the  Brush  Valley  narrows.  James  F.  Linn  was  the  surveyor, 
David  Wolfe  and  Henry  Peters,  chain  carriers,  and  Colonel  Samuel 
Reber,  axeman.  July  4,  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Captain 
Samuel  M.  Patterson  was  erected  in  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard  at 
Lewisburg,  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  by  the  "Union  Hornets." 
On  the  19th  of  October,  Reverend  Thomas  P.  Hunt  commenced 
his  series  of  temperance  lectures,  at  Lewisburg,  which  gave  a  very 
remarkable  impetus  to  the  cause  through  Buffalo  valley.  On  the 
29th,  Reverend  Hugh  Pollock,  from  Belfast,  Ireland,* arrived  and 
took  charge  of  the  Lewisburg  academy,  made  vacant  by  the  removal 
of  James  McClune  to  Mifflinburg. 


Uniied  States  Pensioners  Residing  in  Union  County  in  1840. 

Centre,  Conrad  Swartzlander,  aged  85.  Union,  George  Miller, 
81  ;  Jacob  Bickel,  85  ;  John  Derr,  86.  Mifflinburg,  Peter  Lenhart, 
85  ;  John  Linn,  84.  West  Buffalo,  Robert  Barber,  89.  East  Buf- 
falo, Jacob 'Mook,  86  ;  Adam  Schout,  86.  White  Deer,  Joseph  Bit- 
ting, 8;^.     Hartley,  Peter  Klingaman,  85. 


Census  of  1840. 


Mifflinburg, 
Kelly,     .     . 
Buffalo,  . 
White  Deer, 
Hartley, 
Centre,  . 
New  Berlin, 
Lewisburg,  . 
West  Buffalo, 
East  Buffalo, 


704 
788 

i»348 
1,252 
1,866 
1,891 

679 
1,220 
1,460 

812 


Penn's, 2,280 

Middle  Creek,       .     .     .  562 

Chapman, 15297 

Perry, 1,254 

Union, 15630 

Washington,     ....  1,135 

Beaver, 2,609 


Total, 22,787 


Samuel  Roush,  Esquire,  was  the  deputy  marshal,  who  took  the 
census  of  the  south  side  of  the  county.  Captain  John  Forster,  dep- 
uty marshal  for  the  north  side. 


1841  to  1855. 


Death  of  James  Merrill,  Esquire — Development  of  Iron  Ore  in  the 
Valley — I^ewspapers — Politics — Danville  Encampment — Notice  of 
William  Hayes — Millerism — Camp  Potter — Liberty  Party  Formed 
— Furnaces  Built — Death  of  William  L.  Harris — Daguerreotypes 
Introduced — Railroad  Meeting — Accident  at  Turtle  Creek — List  of 
Valley  Soldiers  in  the  Mexican  War — Vote  on  License — Death  of 
John  Lashells,  Esquire,  and  General  R.  H.  Hammond — Lewisburg 
University  Chartered — High's  Mill  Burned — The  Last  Battalion — 
Taxables  and  Valuation — Census  of  1850 — Susquehanna  Railroad 
Commenced — First  Commencement  at  Lewisburg — Railroad  Excite- 
ment— Union  County  Agricultural  Society  Formed — Lewisburg, 
Centre,  and  Spruce  Creek  Railroad  Company  Chartered^G-reat  Fire 
AT  Lewisburg — Death  of  Honorable  Gteorge  Kremer — Union  Fur- 
nace AT  Winfield  Erected — Erection  of  Snyder  County — Vote  in 
Favor  of  Division — Vote  on  the  Location  of  the  County  Seat. 

[1841.]  In  the  spring,  J.  &  M.  Halfpenny  started  the  Laurel 
woolen  factory,  at  the  mouth  of  Laurel  run,  in  Hartley  township. 
They  built  the  Winfield  woolen  factory,  near  Laurelton,  and  removed 
thither  in  1851.  The  Presbyterian  church,  at  New  Berlin,  was  or- 
ganized. Elders,  John  Lashells,  James  Merrill,  and  Joseph  Stillwell. 
Mr.  Hugh  Pollock  published  his  pamphlet,  entitled  "The  Present 
State  of  America  compared  with  England  and  Ireland."  April  12, 
the  People' s  Advocate,  at  Lewisburg,  suspended  publication .  Septem- 
ber 4,  S.  K.  Sweetman  and  D.  O.  E.  Maize  commenced  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Independent  Press  at  Lewisburg.  In  October,  the  vote  for 
Governor,  in  Union  county,  was :  For  David  R.  Porter,  1,568  ;  for 
John  Banks,  2,132.  October  29,  James  Merrill,  Esquire,  died  at  New 
Berlin,  after  a  lingering  illness,  from  cancer  of  the  face.  He  was 
born  at  Peacham,  Vermont,  May  8,  1790.  Eldest  son  of  Jesse  and 
Priscilla  (Kimbell)  Merrill.     Graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 

53>i 


1842.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  SS9 

i8i2,  in  the  same  class  with  Honorable  John  Blanchard,  and  came 
with  him  to  Pennsylvania.  He  studied  law  with  David  Cassat, 
Esquire,  at  York,  and  settled  in  New  Berlin  in  1816.  As  a  jurist, 
he  soon  became  prominent  in  every  department  of  legal  science.  He 
was  always  upright  and  candid  in  all  his  professional  intercourse,  and 
was  a  faithful  and  efficient  advocate.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of  183  7-1 838.  In  the  fall,  the  iron  ore  below 
the  mouth  of  Turtle  creek  was  found  to  be  of  a  superior  quality,  and 
its  development  was  commenced  by  Napoleon  Hughes,  of  Franklin 
county,  a  short  distance  above  the  site  of  the  present  furnace  of 
Beaver,  Marsh  &  Co.,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  river  bank.  On 
the  25th  of  December,  Nathan  Mitchell  and  James  S.  Marsh  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  the  "  Hathaway  Cooking  Stove,"  at  the 
Lewisburg  foundry.  Current  prices  of  grain  at  Lewisburg,  Septem- 
ber 18:  Wheat,  $1.20;  rye,  50  cents;  corn,  56  cents;  oats,  ;^;^ 
cents;  butter,  10  cents. 

[1842.]  Current  prices  at  Lewisburg,  June  11,  wheat,  $1.00. 
August  20,  wheat,  80  cents.  The  military  spirit  of  the  Valley  may 
be  inferred  from  the  number  of  volunteer  companies:  Lafayette  Troop, 
Union  Troop,  Patriotic  Blues,  Union  Rifle  Rangers,  Mifflinburg 
Greens,  and  the  Lewisburg  Infantry.  The  Union  Titnes,  at  New 
Berlin,  was  published  by  Jacob  Reichly  &  Co. ,  John  M.  Baum,  edicor. 
The  Independent  Press,  at  Lewisburg,  by  S.  K.  Sweetman  and  J.  F. 
Busch.  February  10,  twelve,  P.  M.,  distillery  of  R.  M.  Musser,  in 
Kelly  township,  burned  down.  March  2,  the  Northern  temperance 
convention  met  in  the  Methodist  church  at  Lewisburg.  March  14, 
Elder  William  Lane  commenced  his  labors  at  Lewisburg.  March 
21,  Jonas  Kelchner,  editor  of  the  People's  Advocate,  at  Lewisburg, 
died,  aged  thirty-five.  June  i ,  the  encampment  at  Danville  was  held. 
General  Winfield  Scott  was  the  distinguished  guest.  Lewisburg  In- 
fantry, Captain  McFadden,  and  the  Union  Troop,  Captain  Vanval- 
zah,  were  in  attendance.  June  6,  the  election  for  field  officers  of 
the  forty-third  regiment  resulted  as  follows  :  Colonel,  Levi  B.  Christ ; 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Jacob  Ritter  ;  Major,  Robert  B.  Green.  Inde- 
pendent Battalion — Lieutenant  Colonel,  S.  H.  Laird;  Major,  S.  F. 
Lyndall.  July  4,  General  Abbot  Green  was  elected  major  general 
of  the  eighth  division. 

Union  County  Democratic  Standing  Committee — James  Dale,  Hon- 


I 


540  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1843. 

orable  George  Schnable,  Jacob  Reichly,  Honorable  John  Baskins, 
Thomas  Bower,  Colonel  Samuel  Reber,  Captain  John  Forster,  Major 
George  Roush,  Major  John  Gundy,  Valentine  Haas,  Esquire.  Dem- 
ocratic convention  at  New  Berlin,  August  29,  was  composed  of  the 
following  delegates:  New  Berlin,  Samuel  Wilson  and  Sem  Schoch ; 
Union,  Adam  Miller  and  Jacob  Wetzel ;  West  Buffalo,  Elias  Kleck- 
ner  and  William  Forster;  Mifflinburg,  J.  G.  Chestney  and  Joseph 
Eilert ;  Buffalo,  Jacob  Ritter  and  Martin  Dreisbach ;  Kelly,  David 
Kelly  and  David  Howard ;  East  Buffalo,  James  Reber  and  David 
Herbst ;  Lewisburg,  John  Walls  and  C.  D.  Kline  ;  White  Deer,  Sam- 
uel Henderson  and  J.  W.  Drum ;  Hartley,  Henry  Charles  and 
Charles  D.  Smith.  Henry  C.  Eyer  was  nominated  for  Senator,  and 
Samuel  Reber  for  Assembly.  Samuel  Wilson,  president ;  Thomas 
Bower,  secretary.  The  Whig  convention  also  met  in  August,  and 
nominated  the  following  ticket :  Congress,  William  L.  Harris  ;  Sen- 
ate, Ner  Middleswarth ;  Assembly,  John  A.  Vanvalzah ;  Register 
and  Recorder,  Michael  H.  Weaver;  Commissioner.  Solomon  Engel; 
Auditor,  S.  H.  Laird ;  Trustees,  Robert  Chambers,  William  A.  Pi- 
per, Charles  Montelius.  This  ticket  is  called,  in  the  choice  language 
of  the  Union  Times,  The  Anti-Masonic,  Anti-Suffrage,  Peg  Beatty, 
Blue  Light,  Federal  Whig  ticket  of  Union  county.  Vote  in  October  : 
For  John  A.  Vanvalzah,  for  Assembly,  1,562;   for  Samuel  Reber, 

1,405- 

October  29,  the  church  at  Laurel  run,  in  Hartley  township,  dedi- 
cated. December  term,  George  W.  Graham,  Esquire,  admitted  to 
the  bar.  December  13,  Reverend  S.  H.  Reed  installed  pastor  of 
the  German  Reformed  church  at  Lewisburg.  December  23,  New 
Berlin  Artillerists  organized  by  Colonel  Jackson  McFadden,  brigade 
inspector.  Officers :  Captain,  J.  J.  Maclay ;  first  lieutenant,  Mi- 
chael Kleckner;  second  lieutenant,  Charles  D.  Roush,  and  the 
event  celebrated  by  a  dinner  at  Michael  Kleckner's  hotel. 

[1843.]  In  January,  Honorable  John  Baskins  resigned  the  office 
of  associate  judge  of  Union  county,  preparatory  to  moving  to  Mer- 
cer county,  and  on  the  24th,  B.  F.  Baskins  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
February  17,  William  Hayes,  merchant  of  Lewisburg,  died,  aged 
sixty-one.  His  ancestors,  John  Hayes  and  Jane,  his  wife,  with  four 
children,  emigrated  from  Londonderry  about  the  year  1730 — settled 
in  Chester  county,  where  his  house  burned.     He  then  moved  to 


1843.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  541 

Northampton  county,  where  he  kept  public  house  and  store.  During 
the  Indian  troubles,  he  used  to  beat  a  drum  on  the  hill-top,  near 
his  house,  to  warn  the  settlers  of  approaching  danger.  He  died  in 
1788,  aged  eighty-three.  His  widow  died  at  Derry,  Northumber- 
land county,  aged  ninety-four,  in  1806.  Of  the  four  children  born 
in  Ireland  :  i,  William,  moved  to  the  State  of  Virginia  at  an  early 
period  ;  2,  Isabella,  married  to  Patton,  whose  descendants  live  near 
Bellefonte;  3,  John,  died  near  Meadville,  Pennsylvania;  4,  Mary, 
married  a  Gray,  afterwards  a  Steele.  Of  those  born  in  Pennsylva- 
nia :  5,  Elizabeth,  married  Thomas  Wilson,  (grandfather  of  Francis 
Wilson,  of  Buffalo;)  6,  James ;^  7,  Robert,  born  in  Northampton 
county,  in  1742;  8,  Francis,  who  moved  to  Tennessee;  9,  Jane, 
married  a  Brown,  settled  first  in  Virginia  and  afterwards  moved 
back  to  Pennsylvania.  Robert  married  Mary  Allison,  and  moved  to 
Northumberland  county  in  1790.  He  lived  nine  years  on  a  farm 
near  Warrior  Run  church,  seven  years  at  Derry,  and  in  1806  moved 
to  the  farm  in  Delaware  township,  where  his  son  Joseph  lately  lived. 
He  was  a  school-master,  and  at  that  time  there  were  seven  or  eight 
acres  of  the  place  cleared  and  two  indifferent  huts  on  the  premises, 
which  he  used  as  a  dwelling  and  school-house.  He  died  in  181 9, 
and  his  children  were:  i,  John,  whose  descendants  live  at  Water- 
ford,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania;  2,  Jane,  married  to  Moses  Laird, 
(father  of  Robert  H.  Laird,  Esquire,  of  Lewisburg;)  3,  William 
Hayes,  born  in  1776;  4,  James  Hayes;  5,  Joseph  Hayes,  who  was 
living  a  few  years  since,  at  the  age  of  ninety ;  6,  Mary  Walker,  who 
died  at  eighty-four  years  of  age;  7,  Sarah  Shipman,  descendants  re- 
siding in  Michigan;  8,  Elizabeth,  married  her.  cousin  Brown,  living 
near  Franklin,  Pennsylvania.  William  Hayes'  wife  was  Mary, 
daughter  of  William  Wilson,  of  White  Deer,  now  Kelly  township. 
Children  :  Robert  and  Thomas  of  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Doctor  Seller 
of  Harrisburg,  Mrs.  John  Chamberlin,  Mrs.  Doctor  Thomas  Mur- 
ray, James  Hayes,  late  of  the  Auditor  General's  office,  at  Harris- 
burg, Doctor  William  Hayes  of  Muncy.  Mr.  Hayes  was  the  second 
postmaster  of  Lewisburg,  and  held  the  office  a  long  time,  in  con- 

'Liieutunant  James  Hayes  served  under  Colonel  Bouquet  in  the  French  and  In- 
dian war,  and  received  for  his  services  a  tract  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  Beech  creek, 
in  Clinton  county,  on  which  he  settled,  raised  a  large  family,  and  died.  He  is  buried 
in  the  Hayes  grave-yard,  so  called  from  him,  at  Beech  creek.  He  is  the  only  one  of 
his  brother  officers  who  lulflUed  to  the  letter  his  contract  with  the  Proprietaries  by 
settling  upon  his  allotment. 


542  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1843. 

nection  with  his  store,  which  was  the  principal  one  in  the  Valley  for 
many  years.  The  late  George  A.  Snyder  relates  the  following  inci- 
dent of  Mr.  Hayes'  early  life  in  Lewisburg  : 

"Soon  after  I  commenced  business  in  Lewisburg,  said  my  old  ■ 
friend  William  Hayes,  I  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  an  entire 
cargo  of  wheat  at  Conewago  falls.  I  was  indebted  to  several  per- 
sons for  money  borrowed,  and  much  of  the  wheat  had  been  pur- 
chased trom  the  farmers  on  credit,  who,  being  in  easy  circum- 
stances, were  content  to  leave  the  money  in  my  hands,  receiving 
interest  after  six  months.  So  heavy  a  loss  to  so  new  a  dealer  created 
alarm.  It  was  feared  I  should  not  be  able  to  answer  my  liabilities, 
and  every  creditor  discovered  that  he  had  just  then  need  of  his 
money.  I  paid  out  to  every  one  who  came,  though  with  each  pay- 
ment my  heart  grew  heavy,  for  it  felt  that  I  must  be  crippled,  if  not 
ruined,  before  all  were  paid.  One  of  my  creditors,  however,  on 
the  day  after  I  had  paid  him  ;$4oo,  came  to  my  store  and  returned 
me  the  money,  saying,  '  by  taking  the  money,  I  have  been  only 
making  sure  to  you  the  ruin  which  I  apprehended  ;  take  it  back,  I 
can  trust  it  to  your  honesty,  and  it  will  help  you  get  afloat  again.' 
From  that  time  I  took  courage  and  worked  with  a  good  heart,  and 
was  enabled  to  become  what  you  see." 

In  April,  1843,  Isaac  G.  Gordon,^  a  student-at-law  with  James  F. 
Linn,  Esq.,  was  admitted  to  the  liar. 

Millerism. 

The  grand  delusion  of  this  year  was  Millerism.  A  clergyman 
named  Miller  undertook  the  task  of  ascertaining  when  that  hour 
should  come  "whereof  no  man  knoweth  ;  no,  not  the  angels  of 
God,  neither  the  Son."  Relying  on  the  chronology  of  Rollin,  and 
seemingly  not  aware  of  the  impossibility  of  verifying  the  dates  of 
the  Old  Testament  writers,  he  confidently  predicted  that  the  visible 
and  personal  reign  of  Christ  would  commence  in  the  year  1843.  -His 
preaching,  vehement  and  fanatical  in  its  tone,  and  the  seeming 
accuracy  of  his  calculations,  quickly  gained  him  hearers  and  prose- 

'  In  1860-61  Honorable  Isaac  G.  Gordon  was  elected  member  of  the  House  from 
.Tefrer.''on,  &c.,  April  12,  1866,  commissioned  president  judge  of  the  twenty-eighth 
judicial  district,  and  in  October,  1873,  elected  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supremo 
Court  of  Pennsylvania. 


184'1.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


543 


lytes.  Miller  was  content  to  take  the  whole  year  for  the  fulfillment 
of  his  prophecy,  but  some  of  his  disciples  had  undertaken  to  fix  the 
precise  day  and  hour.  One  preacher  fixed  on  twelve,  p.  m.,  14th 
February.  He  and  his  little  flock  provided  themselves  with  ascen- 
sion robes,  and  repaired  to  the  church-yard  to  await  the  resurrection 
of  their  departed  friends,  and  join  them  in  their  ascent.  The  clock 
struck  twelve,  one,  and  two,  but  the  graves  gave  not  up  their  dead, 
and  the  company  gradually  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

September  23,  William  B.  Shriner  commenced  publishing  the 
Lewisburg  Chronicle.  October  28,  some  little  boys  collected  some 
shavings  at  the  new  Presbyterian  church,  in  New  Berlin,  and  kin- 
dled a  fire,  which  burned  M.  Kleckner's  barn,  with  his  poultry,  hay, 
and  oats,  and  almost  set  the  whole  town  on  fire.  John  Robinson, 
principal  of  the  Lewisburg  Academy.  In  Union  county,  in  Octo- 
ber, the  vote  on  the  State  ticket  for  Canal  Commissioner  was.  Whig, 
2,034;  Democratic,  1,393.  General  Henry  Frick,  Whig,  was 
elected  Congressman  in  the  district  by  a  majority  of  249  over  Hon- 
orable John  Snyder.  Lewisburg  market  prices  in  November :  wheat, 
75  cents;  buckwheat,  40  cents;  rye,  44  cents;  corn,  37^  cents; 
oats,  25  cents;  butter,  10  cents.  December  20,  the  revival  services 
under  the  charge  of  Reverend  William  D.  Grant,  were  crowned 
with  success,  in  the  baptism  of  a  number  of  persons  this  day,  which 
culminated  in  the  formation  of  the  first  Baptist  meeting  at  Lewis- 
burg. December  31,  Reverend  Henry  Harbaugh  preaching  in 
Lewisburg. 

[1844.]  January  3,  the  Baptist  church  at  Lewisburg  was  recog- 
nized as  such,  with  Reverend  C.  A.  Hewitt  as  temporary  pastor. 
January  8,  the  new  Lutheran  church  at  Selinsgrove  was  dedicated. 
February  29,  the  Presbyterian  church  at  New  Berlin  was  dedicated. 
March  i.  General  Henry  Frick,  member  of  Congress  from  this  dis- 
trict, died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  aged  forty-eight.  He  was  interred 
at  Milton  on  Monday,  4th.  He  established  the  Miltonian  Septem- 
ber 21,  1 816.  March  18,  Charles  G.  Donnel,  president  judge  of 
the  eighth  district,  died  at  Sunbury,  of  paralysis,  and  on  the  ist 
of  April,  Joseph  B.  Anthony,  of  Williamsport,  held  his  first  court 
at  Sunbury.  On  the  5th,  a  special  election  for  Congressman,  vice 
General  Frick,  deceased,  was  held.  Li  Union  county,  James  Pol- 
lock received  2,086;  Honorable  John  Snyder,  1,289.     Pollock  had 


544  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1845. 

5  majority  in  Northumberland  county,  and  154  in  Lycoming.  Sny- 
der had  89  in  Clinton.  May  16,  John  Hayes,  deputy  surveyor  of 
Union  county,  died.  Of  his  children  were  R.  G.  H.  Hayes,  Nancy, 
William,  David,  Esquire,  and  James  Hayes.  July  4  was  celebrated 
in  Brown's  woods,  at  Lewisburg,  four  schools  from  the  town  and 
two  from  the  country  joining.  There  were  seven  hundred  Sabbath- 
school  scholars  in  procession,  who  were  addressed  by  Reverends 
Crever,  Harbaugh,  Zeller,  and  Sutton.  August  27,  Camp  Potter, 
on  the  farm  of  James  F.  Linn,  in  East  Buffalo  township,  organized, 
by  the  arrival  of  two  troops  and  three  foot  companies.  General 
James  Potter  in  command.  September  2,  Methodist  camp-meeting 
on  the  farm  of  Jacob  Ziebach.  September  14,  large  Democratic 
meeting  on  the  island,  at  Milton.  Honorable  James  Buchanan 
spoke,  and  assured  his  auditors  that  James  K.  Polk  was  as  good  a 
tariff  man  as  Henry  Clay.  The  summer  was  noted  for  great  efforts 
in  the  temperance  cause — the  burden  of  the  speeches  an  appeal  to 
the  ballot-box.  Reverend  W.  H.  H.  Barnes,  who  afterwards  be- 
came a  backslider,  and  was  murdered  by  guerrillas  during  the  Mexi- 
can war,  canvassed  the  county  and  made  a  fine  impression  from  his 
eloquence  in  advocating  that  appeal.  General  Reily,  of  Rochester, 
New  York,  also  lectured  frequently  during  this  period.  October  8, 
at  the  gubernatorial  election,  Francis  R.  Shunk  and  General  Joseph 
Markle  were  the  opposing  candidates.  Markle  (Whig)  received 
2,721  votes  in  Union  county;  Shunk  (Democrat)  received  1,777. 
For  the  sale  of  the  main  line  of  canals,  1,289  votes  were  cast,  against. 
2,1 13.  F.  J.  Lemoyne  was  voted  for  by  the  Liberty  party  for  Gov- 
ernor. November  i,  presidential  election.  Henry  Clay  had  1,024 
majority.  James  G.  Birney  (Liberty  party)  had  8  votes  in  Lewis- 
burg.    The  names  of  those  who  voted  for  the  latter  were  John  K. 

Housel,  H.  R.  Noll,  Augstadt,  Poeth,  Samuel  Evans, 

Dennis  Phillips,  and  James  F.  Linn.  December  18,  a  Native  Ameri- 
can meeting  was  held  in  the  court-house,  at  New  Berlin,  which  was 
addressed  by  Absalom  Swineford,  Esquire. 

[1845.]  Market  prices  at  Lewisburg,  March:  Wheat,  75  to  80 
cents;  rye,  50  cents;  corn,  37  cents.  In  June,  wheat,  80  cents. 
In  October,  85  to  95  cents.  J.  M.  Kuester  editing  the  Pittsburgh 
Daily  in  January.  February  4,  occurred  the  first  deep  snow  of  the 
winter.    It  was  over  twelve  inches  in  depth.    April  30,  James  Kelly, 


1845.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  545 

senior,  opened  a  temperance  house,  on  Market  street,  in  Lewisburg. 
July  7,  the  first  metal  made  at  the  Berlin  iron-works,  operated  by 
Wilson,  Green  «S:  Mitchell,  was  brought  to  Lewisburg.  The  Baptist 
church  at  Lewisburg,  that  stood  on  the  corner  of  Pine  alley  and  Third 
street,  now  the  site  of  Music  Hall,  was  built  during  the  summer  by 
L.  B.  Christ,  Esquire,  contractor.  August  9,  John  Wolfe's  barn,  in 
East  Buffalo  township,  was  struck  by  lightning,  and  burned.  Au- 
gust 13,  Honorable  Hugh  Wilson,  late  associate  judge  of  Union 
county,  died,  at  three,  p.  m.,  aged  eighty-four.  His  wife,  Sarah  Craig, 
was  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  Craig,  of  the  third  regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Line,  afterward  General  Thomas  Craig,  of  Northamp- 
ton county.  August  29,  West  Branch  Division,  No.  53,  Sons  of 
Temperance,  organized  at  Lewisburg.  September  3,  barn  of  George 
F.  Miller,  Esquire,  in  East  Buffalo,  burned  by  an  incendiary.  Sep- 
tember 28,  Reverend  Joel  E.  Bradley  preached  the  first  sermon  in 
the  lecture  room  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Lewisburg.  September  13, 
first  frost.  October  9,  Hugh  Wilson,  of  Buffalo  township,  died.  He 
moved  to  this  Valley  from  Northampton  county,  and  got  here  a  few 
days  before  Christmas,  1790.  Lived  the  winter  of  1790-91  in  an 
old  cabin,  on  his  father-in-law's,  William  Irvine,  (Irish,)  place,  in  Buf- 
falo ;  then  kept  tavern  for  two  years,  one  mile  above  Miffiinburg, 
(late  John  Kleckner's.)  In  the  latter  part  of  March,  1793,  moved 
to  a  place  owned  by  Colonel  Hartley,  one  fourth  of  a  mile  east  of 
Hartleton,  on  the  old  road,  (late  Yerger's,)  where  he  lived  five 
•  years,  and  in  the  spring  of  1798  moved  to  Lewisburg,  where  he  kept 
store  in  a  log  building,  formerly  Thomas  Caldwell's,  (which  stood 
where  Doctor  F.  C.  Harrison's  house  now  is,)  until  1804,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  William  Hayes,  and  then  moved  on  to  his  farm, 
one  mile  west  of  Lewisburg,  where  he  died,  lacking  twelve  days  of 
eighty-five  years  of  age.  His  children  were,  Doctor  William  I.  Wil- 
son, of  Potter's  Mills,  still  living  ;  Mrs.  William  C.  Steadman,  Fran- 
cis Wilson,  and  Mrs.  James  F.  Linn.  At  the  October  election,  S. 
D.  Karns,  Whig  candidate  for  Canal  Commissioner,  received  2,015 
votes  in  Union  county  ;  James  Burns,  Democrat,  1,416.  October 
30,  Frederick  Bingamandied  in  Beaver  township,  aged  ninety  years. 
He  was  in  the  militia,  under  General  James  Potter,  at  Brandywine. 
In  November,  Green,  Howard  &  Green  commenced  erecting  the 
Forest  iron-works,  in  White  Deer  township.  November  11,  Honor- 
35 


546  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1846. 

able  William  L.  Harris  died  at  four,  p.  M.,  from  the  effect  of  an  op- 
eration, performed  between  twelve  and  one,  p.  m.,  for  the  removal 
of  a  tumor.  He  was  highly  respected,  and  as  it  was  not  known  that 
he  was  the  subject  of  a  disease,  his  death  caused  a  great  shock  to  the 
people  of  the  Valley.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  in  1833,  and  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1837-1838.  In  December,  an  artist 
named  Felch  took  the  first  daguerreotypes  in  the  Valley.  He  charged 
$6  50  for  a  group  of  five  in  a  small  four-inch  glass  case.  December 
16,  Charles  Merrill,  Esquire,  admitted  to  the  bar. 

[1846.]  January  8.  a  large  railroad  meeting  was  held  at  INIifflin- 
burg,  Henry  Yearick,  president,  to  urge  the  incorporation  of  a 
company  to  make  a  railroad  through  the  Valley.  February  5,  the 
act  to  establish  the  University  at  Lewisburg  was  passed,  (Pamphlet 
Laws,  32,)  and  on  the  5th  of  October,  Professor  Stephen  W.  Tay- 
lor opened  its  high  school  in  the  lecture  room  of  the  Baptist  church. 
Friday  evening,  March  13,  Thomas  FoUmer  and  his  son  Henry  and 
William  Gundy,  son  of  Major  John  Gundy,  who  were  managing  the 
Farmers'  company  store  at  Turtle  creek,  were  drowned  at  the  mouth 
of  that  creek.  They  were  going  in  a  boat,  about  ten,  p.  m.,  to  visit 
the  store-house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  and  were  on  their 
return,  when  the  mill  dam  gave  way,  and  the  boat  struck  a  timber 
raft.  William  Gundy's  body  was  found  in  the  boat  under  the  raft, 
the  next  day;  the  others  were  carried  down  the  river,  and  their 
bodies  were  found  three  weeks  afterward,  some  miles  below.  The 
flood  in  the  river  at  this  time  exceeded  that  of  1810,  being  six  and 
one  half  inches  above  the  mark  of  that  date  on  Kremer's  store-house. 
The  canal  was  broken,  mails  stopped,  the  Milton  bridge  badly  in- 
jured, the  bridge  on  the  North  Branch,  at  Northumberland,  carried 
away,  as  well  as  the  one  at  Duncan's  island,  and  the  Harrisburg 
bridge  in  part.  March  21,  price  of  wheat  at  Lewisburg,  eighty-five 
to  ninety  cents.  April  i,  the  last  sermon  preached  in  the  old  stone 
church,  at  Buffalo  Cross- Roads,  by  Reverend  Isaac  Grier,  from  Mat- 
thew, xxviii :  V.  5.  The  congregation  worshipped  twenty  nine  years 
and  three  months  in  that  building.  In  August,  Reverend  Samuel 
Shaeffer  had  charge  of  the  Lewisl)urg  academy.  At  the  October 
election,  in  Union  county,  James  M.  Power  received  1,976  votes, 
and  William  B.  Foster,  905,  for  canal  commissioner.  November  15. 
Baptist  meeting-house  at  Lewisburg  dedicated.     November  27,  John 


1847.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  547 

Derr,  a  revolutionary  soldier,  died  in  Centre  township,  aged  ninety- 
three  years.  Monday,  December  28,  the  Columbia  Guards,  after- 
wards company  C,  second  regiment.  Captain  John  S.  Wilson, 
passed  through  Lewisburg  on  their  way  to  the  seat  of  war  in  Mexico. 
They  were  provided  with  dinner  by  the  citizens.  Charles  H.  Shriner 
delivered  an  address,  and  Colonel  Jackson  McFadden  presented 
them  with  a  flag. 

List  of  Soldiers  in  the  Mexican  War  from  Union  county. 

App,  Jacob,  Selinsgrove,  company  C,  second  regiment,  died  at 
San  Francisco,  California,  in  October,  1849,  aged  twenty-four; 
Best,  Francis  R.,  Mifflinburg,  company  C,  second  regiment,  died 
at  Perote,  June  30,  1847  ;  Bower,  Doctor  Charles,  surgeon  ;  Bruner, 
William,  Hartleton  ;  Cronmiller,  Henry,  Mifflinburg,  Independent 
rocket  and  howitzer  battery;  Forster,  R.  H.,  Mifflinburg,  company 
C,  second  regiment ;  Leopard,  Joseph,  Kelly,  company  I,  first  reg- 
iment ;  Miller,  George  ;  McFadden,  Hugh,  Lewisburg,  company 
C,  second  regiment,  died  at  Perote,  September  14,  1847  ;  Mc- 
Laughlin, William,  Lewisburg,  fifth  United  States  infantry,  died  in 
service  ;  Montgomery,  John  C,  company  M,  second  regiment  ; 
Nyhart,  Peter,  died  January  14,  1849;  Oliphant  George;  Quid- 
dington,  Thomas;  Yarnell,  Peter;  Zentmyer,  Enos,  first  regiment. 
The  survivors  of  company  C  returned  to  Danville  in  August,  1848, 
and  shortly  after  Lieutenant  Clarence  G.  Frick  returned  the  flag, 
tattered  by  the  storms  of  war,  and  little  left  beside  the  staff",  to 
Colonel  McFadden,  at  Lewisburg. 

[1847.]  March  19,  vote  in  Lewisburg  against  licensing  taverns, 
210;  in  favor  of,  75.  In  April,  price  of  wheat  in  Lewisburg  was 
$1  30  to  $1  35.  May  7,  corner-stone  of  the  German  Reformed 
church  in  Lewisburg  laid.  Reverend  Doctor  John  W.  Nevin 
preached  and  performed  the  services.  In  April,  the  extreme  dis- 
tress in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  on  account  of  failure  of  crops,  caused 
meetings  to  be  held  for  their  relief,  and  large  contributions  of  money 
and  provisions  were  made  by  the  people  of  Buffalo  Valley.  May 
18,  John  Lashells,  Esquire,  died  at  New  Berlin.  He  came  to  this 
county  from  Adams  county,  and  his  legal  experience  was  contempo 
rary  with  the  county.     He  was  buried  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads,  on 


548  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1848. 

tJ-ke  2oth,  the  following  members  of  the  court  and  bar  attending  : 
A.  S.  Wilson,  president  judge  ;  Joseph  Stillwell  and  John  Montelius, 
associates ;  Hugh  Bellas,  Ebenezer  Grenough,  Alexander  Jordan, 
James  F.  Linn,  Isaac  Slenker,  George  F.  Miller,  Joseph  Casey, 
Samuel  Weirick,  D.  W.  Woods,  R.  B.  Barber,  William  Van  Gezer, 
and  Henry  C.  Hickok.  June  2,  General  R.  H.  Hammond,  who 
was  a  paymaster  in  the  United  States  army,  died  on  board  of  a 
vessel,  between  Vera  Cruz  and  New  Orleans,  aged  fifty-seven.  He 
served  in  Congress  two  terms.  His  body  was  interred  with  military 
honors  at  Milton,  on  Monday,  August  2.  Independent  Grays,  of 
Selinsgrove,  Lewisburg  Infantry,  Danville  Rifles,  Lycoming  and 
Northumberland  troops.  Masonic  fraternity,  in  full  regalia,  were 
in  procession  ;  General  Green  commanding  the  military.  In  all, 
over  six  thousand  people  in  attendance  upon  the  ceremonies.  In 
August,  Alexander  McClure  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Lewisburg, 
wVif  William  Murray.  On  Saturday,  x\ugust  21,  a  meeting  favor- 
ing the  nomination  of  General  Zachary  Taylor  for  President,  was 
held  at  New  Berlin.  Honorable  George  Kramer  presided  ;  General 
Abbot  Green,  William  Cameron,  Jacob  Reedy,  Henry  Yearick, 
vice  presidents;  John  Walls,  Thomas  Bower,  and  John  M.  Baum,  sec- 
retaries. The  meeting  was  addressed  by  Henry  C.  Hickok,  Esquire, 
and  Charles  H.  Shriner.  September  15,  a  Democratic  meeting,  pre- 
sided over  by  John  Cummin gs,  junior,  recommended  General  Taylor 
for  President.  In  October,  the  vote  in  Union  county  for  Governor 
was,  for  James  Irvin,  2,463;  Francis  R.  Shunk,  1,479.  October  9, 
river  rose  very  high,  and  the  west  half  of  the  Buff"alo  creek  bridge 
was  carried  away,  and  lodged  upon  the  river  bridge.  The  river  is 
said  to  have  been  one  foot  higher  at  Lewisburg  than  it  was  in  the 
spring  of  1846.  October  20,  Philadelphia  synod  met  at  Lewis- 
burg, and  was  opened  by  a  sermon  by  Doctor  Yeomans,  of  Danville. 
Decerriber  25,  O.  N.  Worden  became  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Lewisburg  Chronicle. 

[1848.]  January  8,  the  German  Reformed  church  at  Lewis- 
burg, was  dedicated ;  the  exercises  were  conducted  by  Reverend 
H.  Harbaugh,  pastor,  assisted  by  Reverend  Messrs.  Fishers  and 
Reverend  Mr.  Funk.  It  is  situated  on  Third  street,  below  Mar- 
ket, and  is  sixty  feet  by  forty — H.  R.  Noll,  architect.  In  Feb- 
ruary ground  was  broken  for  the  academy  building  of  the  Univer- 


1849.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  S49 

sity.  Noll  and  Crites  had  the  carpenter  work,  L.  B.  Christ  the 
brick  and  plastering ;  brick-work  was  let  to  Reed  &  Baker,  paint- 
ing to  Metzgar  &  Munson.  March  2,  a  meeting  v/as  held  to 
secure  a  suitable  place  for  a  cemetery  at  Lewisburg.  The  company 
was  incorporated  April  10,  (Pamphlet  Laws,  446,)  and  in  July  they 
purchased  six  acres  from  John  Chamberlin,  adjoining  the  western 
limit  of  the  borough.  March  17,  Reverend  Thomas  Hood  died, 
aged  sixty-eight.  He  was  born  in  Chester  county,  in  July,  1781, 
graduated  at  Dickinson  college  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  studied  the- 
ology under  Reverend  Nathan  Grier,  of  Brandywine,  was  licensed 
in  1802,  and  was  married  April  16,  1803,  to  Miss  Mary  Haslet, 
of  Chester  county.  Mrs.  Hood  died  November  10,  1840,  and  he 
married  Miss  Hannah  McClure,  March  4,  1845.  His  children  were 
Mrs.  Catherine  McCormick,  of  Mill  Hall,  Clinton  county,  Mrs. 
Mary  Rutter,  Mrs.  Margaret  Harvey,  and  Wilson  Hood.  June  6, 
Charles  L.  Shoemaker,  of  West  Buffalo,  was  kicked  by  a  horse,  and 
died  on  the  7th,  aged  thirty-five  years.  June  14,  J.  S.  Hawke  sold 
the  Union  Star  to  D.  W.  Woods,  Esquire.  The  Union  Democrat, 
published  at  New  Berlin,  by  J.  Young.  June  9,  Lewisburg  market : 
wheat,  $1  06;  rye,  60  cents;  corn,  35  cents;  butter,  12  cents. 
October  10,  Ner  Middleswarth's  vote  for  Canal  Commissioner  was 
2,941  ;  Israel  Painter,  1,580.  Joseph  Casey  had  1,333  majority  for 
Congress  in  Union  county,  and  223  in  the  district.  Li  November 
General  Taylor  had  1,473  majority  in  Union  county.  In  Lewis- 
burg, Taylor  had  205  ;  Cass,  124;  Van  Buren,  10.  In  New  Berlin 
Taylor,  79;   Cass,  57;  Van  Buren,  5. 

[1849.]  January — ,  A.  Kennedy  appointed  postmaster  at  LeV\^- 
isburg,  and  R.  P.  Maclay  appointed  associate  judge  of  Clarion 
county.  Doctor  Thomas  A.  H.  Thornton  commenced  the  practice 
of  medicine  at  Lewisburg.  The  Berlin  iron-works  were  blown  out, 
and  Forest  iron-works  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff.  The  California 
gold  fever  reached  the  Valley,  and  on  the  26th  of  February,  R.  B. 
Green,  David  Howard,  Cyrus  Fox,  W.  H.  Chamberlin,  Frederick 
Schaffle  and  John  D.  Musser,  set  out  for  California,  by  the  overland 
route.  James  K.  Kelly,  James  M.  Duncan,  and  others,  left  Lewis- 
town  for  the  same  destination.  March  5,  Peter  Struble,  of  West 
Buffalo,  aged  about  fifty-eight,  was  found  dead  on  the  public  road 
near  Buffalo  Cross-Roads.     He  had  accompanied  a  newly  married 


5J0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1850. 

daughter  to  her  home  in  Lycoming  county,  and  was  returning 
on  foot,  when  death  met  him  with  a  paralytic  stroke.  April  25, 
High's  flouring-mill,  at  White  Deer,  burned.  Over  $5,000  worth 
of  grain  destroyed.  Kaufman  &  Reber  bought  the  Forest  iron- 
works for  $7,000.  May  21  was  the  last  of  the  battalions,  one  com- 
pany only,  the  Lewisburg  infantry,  paraded.  A  great  crowd  of  boys 
and  people  from  the  townships  had  come  to  Lewisburg.  "The 
meanest  battalion  I  ever  seed,"  was  the  general  expression.  Octo- 
ber 9,  H.  M.  Fuller,  candidate  for  Canal  Commissioner,  received 
2,431  votes  in  Union  county;  John  A.  Gamble,  1,820.  Colonel  Eli 
Slifer's  majority  over  John  Cummings,  junior,  for  Assembly,  was 
617.  Against  a  poor-house,  2,537  votes  were  cast;  for,  910.  No- 
vember 5,  James  McClellan,  Esquire,  died,  aged  eighty-two.  He 
had  lived  over  fifty  years  in  the  Valley,  and  was  nearly  the  last  of  those 
worthies  who  settled  our  Valley.  He  came  from  Chester  county, 
and  married  Mary  L-vine,  daughter  of  Captain  William  Irvine,  of 
the  Valley.  He  was  a  school-master  and  justice  of  the  peace  for 
many  years.  He  was  considered  by  many,  who  could  not  appre- 
ciate his  worth,  as  an  obstinate  man,  the  true  reason  of  which  was, 
that  he  was  firm  in  his  opinions,  and  in  nine  casfes  out  .of  ten  right. 
I  never  knew  a  man  who  was  more  willing  to  acknowledge  his  error 
when  he  discovered  it.  Among  his  last  expressions  was,  "when  a 
man  came  to  die,  this  world  and  all  its  interests  were  of  little  ac- 
count." He  was  a  living  encyclopedia  of  church  history,  and  with 
him  passed  away  forever  many  interesting  incidents  of  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Pennsylvania. — -J.  F.  Litmus 
Diary. 

[1850.]  January  2,  H.  C.  Hickok,  Esquire,  takes  the  editorial 
chair  of  the  Lewisburg  Chronicle,  O.  N.  Worden,  publisher,  and 
Reverend  Henry  Harbaugh  issues  the  first  number  of  The  Guardian. 
February  26,  report  of  James  Marshall,  John  App,  and  Leonard 
Wolfe  confirmed,  erecting  a  new  township,  which  the  court  direct 
shall  be  called  Limestone. 


1850.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  ssr 

TixTbles  Valuation  of 

Buffalo, 251  $573,260 

Buffalo,  East, 198  282,842 

Buffalo,  West, 294  391,144 

Hartley, 384  403, 495 

Kelly, 209  299,007 

Union, 346  441,105 

White  Deer, 315  233,575 

Lewisburg, 428  168,782 

Mififlinburg, ;  207  57,147 

New  Berlin, 153  86,922 

In  April,  Frick  &  Slifer  removed  their  boat-yard  to  Lewisburg, 
a  pecuniary  advantage  both  to  the  borough  and  the  Valley,  which 
should  be  specially  noted.  April  18,  Doctor  Robert  Vanvalzah  died 
at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads,  aged  eighty-five.  He  was  born  near  Croton 
river.  New  York,  April  17,  1764,  and  when  a  boy  of  sixteen,  he 
served  two  tours  in  the  militia  with  the  Continental  army.  He 
came  to  Buffalo  Valley  in  1786,  so  poor,  that  one  of  the  Beattys 
gave  him  a  shilling  to  pay  his  ferriage  over  the  river  at  Sunbury,  a 
favor  he  never  forgot,  and  repaid  with  much  interest  in  providing 
for  one  of  the  family  for  many  years.  He  settled  on  Penn's  creek, 
and  in  connection  with  his  father-in-law.  Colonel  Sutherland,  built 
the  mills,  two  miles  below  New  Berlin,  lately  owned  by  the  Maurers. 
He  located  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads,  about  the  year  1796,  and  his  his- 
tory is  intimately  associated  with  that  of  the  Valley  for  sixty-four 
vears.  His  practice  extended  into  the  present  counties  of  Mifflin, 
Centre,  and  Juniata.  Two  of  his  sons.  Doctors  Thomas  and  Robert, 
became  eminent  practitioners  in  the  Valley,  and  his  grandsons,  in 
the  same  profession,  have  been  and  are  numerous  and  skillful.  In 
May,  Reverend  D.  Y.  Heisler  was  installed  pastor  of  the  German 
Reformed  church  at  Lewisburg,  and  a  post-ofifice  was  established  at 
Forest  Hill  in  West  Buffalo  township,  on  the  Brush  Valley  road,  A. 
H.  Lutz,  postmaster.  In  April,  wheat  at  Lewisburg  was  at  95  cents 
to  $1  00,  and  in  June,  %\  05  to  $1  10.  June  7,  Captain  William 
Housel  died  in  Lewisburg,  aged  sixty-one.  He  served  five  years  in 
the  regular  army,  was  captured  in  181 3,  taken  to  Quebec,  and  there 
was  exchanged,  and  rejoined  his  regiment.     He  was  in  the  engage- 


553  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1851. 

ments  at  Chippewa  and  Lundy's  Lane,  and  was  in  Fort  Erie  when 
the  magazine  exploded.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors  by  the 
Lewisburg  infantry  and  the  Cameron  guards.  Thursday  and  Fri- 
day, July  1 8  and  19,  a  north-east  storm  raged  for  thirty-two  hours. 
Limestone  run  higher  than  ever  known,  and  Chillisquaque  creek 
higher  than  known  before  in  fifty-seven  years.  In  October,  Henry 
W.  Snyder  had  2,172  votes  for  Auditor  General;  Ephraim  Banks, 
1,443.  For  the  judicial  amendment,  i  ,45 1  votes  were  cast ;  against, 
1,424. 

Census  of  1850. 


Mifflinburg,      ....  783 

New  Berlin,      ....  741 

Union, 1^452 

White  Deer,     .     .     .     .  1,537 


Total, 135631 


Buffalo, Ij346 

Buffalo,  East,   ....  970 

Buffalo,  West,  .     .     .     .  1,007 

Hartley, 2,142 

Kelly, 834 

Lewisburg, 2,042 

Limestone, 807 

[1851.]  Honorable  Ner  Middles warth  was  the  Whig  caucus  nom- 
inee for  State  Treasurer.  The  following  post-offices  were  established 
in  January:  Chestnut  Ridge,  Samuel  R.  Baum,  postmaster;  Dry 
Valley,  J.  Mitman ;  Winfield,  M.  H.  Taggert ;  Crotzerville,  H. 
Heiser.  In  April,  the  old  bridge  at  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek  was 
removed,  and  a  new  one  commenced.  The  Sugar  Valley  and  White 
Deer  turnpike  received  an  appropriation  from  the  State,  and  was 
completed.  Volksfreund,  started  at  New  Berlin,  byF.  &  E.  Smith. 
April  26,  Thomas  Howard,  in  digging  a  ditch,  near  his  residence,  in 
Kelly,  dug  up  a  tusk  of  a  mammoth,  ten  feet  long  and  nine  inches 
in  diameter.  It  was  found  in  a  layer  of  blue  clay,  two  feet  below  the 
surface.  In  May  wheat  was  80  to  85  cents;  rye,  50  cents;  corn, 
50  cents.  May  26,  the  telegraphic  wire  was  brought  to  Lewisburg, 
and  before  night  a  message  dispatched  to  Philadelphia,  and  an 
answer  received ;  and  a  meeting  was  held  favoring  the  construction 
of  the  Susquehanna  railroad,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  from 
Sunbury  to  Williamsport.  August  20,  the  first  commencemeol  of 
the  University  at  Lewisburg  was  held,  and  its  first  class  graduated  as 
follows  :  Salutatory,  J.  M.  Linn,  Washington  Barnhurst  of  Philadel- 
phia, R.  M.  Fish  of  Beaver,  George  O.  Ide  of  Philadelphia,  J.  M. 


1852.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  553 

Lyons  of  Chester  county,  Henry  Poraerene  of  Pittsburgh.  Vale- 
dictorian :  J.  H.  Castle.  The  degrees  were  conferred  by  Professor 
Taylor,  and  Professor  George  R.  Bliss  delivered  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress. Professor  S.  W.  Taylor  then  took  formal  leave  of  the  insti- 
tution, having  accepted  the  presidency  of  Madison  university  at 
Hamilton,  New  York ;  and  Doctor  Howard  Malcolm  was  formally 
installed  president  of  the  University  by  Thomas  Watson,  Esquire, 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  October  14,  vote  in  Union 
county:  For  Governor,  William  F.  Johnston,  2,817  ;  William  Big- 
ler,  1,949.  For  president  judge,  Joseph  Casey  received  2,379,  and 
A.  S.  Wilson,  2,283. 

[1852.]  March  13,  a  railroad  convention  was  held  at  Baltimore, 
attended  largely  by  delegates  from  the  Valley.  April  15,  Daniel  L. 
Miller,  junior,  Esquire,  president  of  the  Sunbury  and  Erie  railroad, 
visited  Lewisburg  and  endeavored  to  interest  the  people  in  favor  of 
that  road,  but  public  sympathy  was  with  the  Susquehanna  or  Balti- 
more company,  and  the  railroad  controversy  was  inaugurated,  which 
ended  in  1855  with  a  division  of  Union  county  by  a  proposition 
that  the  county  commissioners  should  subscribe  $200,000  to  the  stock 
of  the  road.  This  was  done  by  Captain  John  Wilt  and  George 
Heimbach,  county  commissioners,  on  the  28th  of  April.  The 
borough  authorities  of  Lewisburg  subsequently  subscribed  $75,000. 
In  May  the  Union  County  mutual  fire  insurance  company  was  or- 
ganized ;  John  Gundy,  president,  J.  A.  Mertz,  Esquire,  secretary. 
June  10,  weather  as  cold  as  in  December,  a  heavy  frost  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  nth.  August  31,  the  largest  meeting  ever  witnessed  in 
New  Berlin  assembled  to  take  action  on  the  railroad  question.  The 
court-house  being  too  small,  the  meeting  convened  in  front  of  the 
public  buildings.  John  Swineford  nominated  R.  B.  Barber  for  presi- 
dent, and  took  the  ayes,  but  not  the  nays.  He  then  read  a  list  of 
vice  presidents  and  secretaries.  The  nays  were  again  demanded, 
and  when  put  the  whole  organization  was  voted  down.  C.  H. 
Shriner  attempted  to  offer  a  resolution,  and  Mr.  Barber  proceeded 
to  state  the  object  of  the  meeting,  but  his  voice  was  drowned  by  a 
shout  that  compelled  him  to  desist.  Mr.  Casey  then  nominated  Hon- 
orable Ner  Middleswarth  for  president,  which  motion  was  carried. 
He  was  helped  into  the  wagon,  and  proceeded  to  state  the  object  of 
the  meeting.     The  repudiators  of  the  bonds  had  retreated  to  the  steps 


SS4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [ISoS. 

of  the  jail  to  make  another  stand,  when  a  delegation  of  them  sallied 
forth,  seized  the  wagon,  and  carried  oif  president  Middleswarth  and 
his  fellow  officers  around  the  corner  towards  Penn's  creek.  The 
audience,  however,  kept  its  place,  and  the  president  returned  and 
mounted  another  wagon,  when  the  meeting  was  addressed  by  Messrs. 
Casey,  S._  C.  Wilt,  G.  F.  Miller,  and  resolutions  passed  approving 
of  the  $200,000  subscription  to  the  Susquehanna  railroad. 

The  watchword  of  the  Democratic  party  this  fall  in  the  county, 
"no  more  hay  for  Breyman's  cow,"  arose  from  the  fact  that  C. 
Breyman  farmed  and  pastured  the  public  lots.  October  12,  for 
Canal  Commissioner,  Jacob  Hoffman  received  2,555  J  William  Hop- 
kins, 1,807.  Ner  Middleswarth,  for  Congress,  had  706  majority; 
Adam  Sheckler,  for  county  commissioner,  had  718  majority  over 
Philip  Ruhl. 

The  Union  County  agricultural  society  was  formed  at  the  court- 
house at  New  Berlin,  Saturday,  November  13;  the  East  Buffalo 
society,  which  had  been  in  existence  for  a  year,  passed  a  resolution 
calling  the  meeting  for  such  organization.  Martin  Dreisbach  presided 
at  this  meeting,  Samuel  Weirick  acting  as  secretary,  and  Jacob  Gundy 
presented  a  form  of  constitution,  which,  after  several  amendments, 
was  adopted.  Jacob  Gundy  was  elected  president  of  the  society; 
Samuel  Shedle,  of  Perry,  and  others,  vice  presidents;  R.  H.  Laird, 
treasurer;  R.  V.  B.  Lincoln,  assistant  secretary;  O.  N.  Worden, 
recording  secretary;  Samuel  Weirick,  librarian;  executive  commit- 
tee, James  P.  Ross,  Isaac  Slenker,  and  Henry  W.  Snyder.  In  No- 
vember, Nesbit  Hayes  and  Fichthorn  commenced  erecting  the  first 
steam  flouring-mill,  upon  Water  street,  in  Lewisburg.  December 
14,  at  a  meeting  held  at  New  Berlin  the  Crawford  county  system  of 
voting  directly  for  candidates  was  proposed.  Joseph  Casey,  Esquire, 
Israel  Gutelius,  and  John  Wilt  favoring  its  introduction.  Ner  Mid- 
dleswarth, D.  A.  Woods,  Samuel  Weirick,  and  James  Marshall,  op- 
posing.    It  was  finally  agreed  to  try  the  system  for  one  year. 

[1853.]  February  11,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Potter's  Fort  tavern 
favorable  to  building  a  railroad  from  Lewisburg  to  Spruce  creek, 
and  on  the  12th  of  April,  the  Lewisburg,  Centre,  and  Spruce  Creek 
railroad  company  was  incorporated,  and  on  the  i6th  of  May  Thomas 
A.  Emmett,  with  a  corps  of  engineers,  commenced  the  survey. 
April  20,  the  Lewisburg  saving  institution  was  incorporated  ;  books 


185-1.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  555 

were  opened  on  the  23d  of  June,  and  two  hundred  shares  taken.  It 
commenced  business  September  19,  with  William  Cameron  as  presi- 
dent, H.  P.  Sheller,  cashier.  In  October,  the  vote  in  Union  county 
was,  for  Thomas  A.  Budd,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  2,616; 
John  C.  Knox,  1,521.  On  13th  and  14th  of  October,  "  The  Union 
County  agricultural  society"  held  its  fair  at  New  Berlin  ;  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  five  articles  were  entered  for  competition,  and  a 
plowing  match  came  off.  October  15,  Frick,  Slifer  &  Co.'s  steam 
saw-mill  burned  down,  with  the  newly  erected  county  bridge,  three 
boats,  &c.  Captain  John  Forster  appointed  postmaster  at  Miffiin- 
burg,  and  Henry  W.  Crotzer,  at  Lewisburg.  December  9,  the 
workmen  on  the  Susquehanna  railroad,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
below  Lewisburg,  on  Major  John  Gundy's  farm,  came  upon  the 
skeleton  of  a  full  grown  person  covered  with  stones.  The  bones 
crumbled  on  exposure.  The  site  was  on  the  side  of  a  steep  and 
almost  impassible  hill,  and  the  body  must  have  been  deposited  there 
with  considerable  effort. 

[1854.]  In  April,  price  of  wheatwas  $1  50;  rye,  75  cents;  corn, 
55  cents.  In  June,  wheat  advanced  to  ^i  87.  At  February  term 
Jackson  township  was  formed,  out  of  partsof  Penn's,  Middle  Creek, 
Limestone,  and  Union  townships.  In  June,  Professor  J.  S.  Whit- 
man was  elected  the  first  superintendent  of  public  schools  for  Union 
county,  with  a  salary  of  $300,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  schools  to 
oversee.  July  15,  W.  A.  Patterson,  of  Kelly,  died,  in  his  eighty- 
third  year.  He  held  a  pen  in  his  hand,  preparatory  to  signing  a 
note,  when  the  "grim  messenger"  came,  and  he  died  before  mak- 
ing a  mark.  Honorable  George  Kremer  died,  near  M-iddleburg,  on 
Sunday,  September  to,  aged  seventy-nine.  His  last  public  appear- 
ance was  in  July,  1847,  when  he  presided  over  a  public  meeting, 
held  at  New  Berlin,  to  advocate  the  election  of  General  Taylor  to 
the  presidency.  He  was  buried  in  the  family  burying-ground,  on 
his  own  farm,  on  Wednesday,  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  peo- 
ple. The  new  Christian  chapel,  on  Third  street,  below  Market,  in 
Lewisburg,  was  built  this  year.  At  the  election,  in  October,  James 
Pollock  had  2,881,  and  William  Bigler,  1,913,  for  Governor  in 
Union  county.  The  vote  in  the  county  for  a  prohibitory  liquor  law 
was  1,440;  against,  2,614.  In  October,  the  Union  furnace  at  Win- 
field  was  built  by  Beaver,  Marsh  &  Co.     The  University  extension 


ij6  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  [1855. 

of  the  town  plan  of  Lewisburg  laid  out  by  Reverend  A.  K.  Bell, 
treasurer  of  the  University,  and  James  F.  Linn,  surveyor. 

[1855.]  Wheat,  in  March,  $2  00  ;  rye,  $1  00  ;  corn,  75  cents  ; 
butter,  16  cents;  eggs,  12  cents.  Chronicle  published  by  O.  N.  Wor- 
den  and  J.  R.  Cornelius,  Henry  C.  Hickok  having  been  appointed 
Deputy  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools.  Thursday  evening, 
January  18,  Clinton  Welch,  Esquire,  a  lawyer  from  Lewisburg,  was 
drowned  in  the  Delaware,  at  Philadelphia.  March  2,  the  act  creat- 
ing a  new  county,  to  be  called  Snyder,  out  of  Union,  was  approved. 
The  election  provided  for  therein  was  held  on  the  14th  of  March. 
The  vote  was  as  follows  : 

For.  Against. 

Buffalo, 189  84 

Buffalo,  East, 175  4 

Buffalo,  West, 114  62 

Hartley, 152  191 

Kelly, 143  22 

Lewisburg, 485  i 

Limestone, 3  60 

Mifflinburg, 69  92 

White  Deer, 254  21 

In  the  county  the  vote  stood,  for  division,  1,688  ;  against,  1,643. 
In  May,  Union  seminary  at  New  Berlin  was  established.  Reverend 
W.  W.  Orwig,  president;  Reverend  F.  C.  Hendricks  and  Hoffman, 
professors.  October  9,  the  election  was  held  to  determine  the  site 
of  the  county  seat,  Lewisburg  and  Mifflinburg  were  the  competing 
towns,  having  each  furnished  a  guarantied  subscription,  that  the 
county  buildings  should  be  erected  by  the  successful  town,  without 
any  cost  to  the  taxpayers.     The  vote  was  as  follows : 


1S55.]  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  jj7 


For  Lewisburg,     For  Mifflinburg. 

Lewisburg,  North  Ward, 286  

South  Ward, 233  _ 

East  Buffalo, 174  8 

Union, 79  26 

Kelly, 145  2  1 

White  Deer, 255  26 

Buffalo, 157  121 

West  Buffalo, 13  200 

Hartley, 78  321 

New  Berlin, 7  i^g 

Jackson, 4  -50 

Limestone, 5  129 

Mififlinburg, i  196 

1,436  1,226 
For  Canal  Commissioner,  Nicholson's  majority  was  607. 

Census  Mums  for  1860  and  1870. 

I860.  1870. 

Buffalo, 1,560  I '521 

Buffalo,  East, 968  1,011 

Buffalo,  West, i^oyS  1,046 

Hartley, 1,530  1,143 

Hartleton,  (incorporated  1858,)       ....         288  292 

Kelly,        779  942 

Lewisburg, 2,666  3>i2i 

Lewis,  (taken  from  Hartley  1856,)       .     .     .         658  i)007 

Limestone, 913  880 

Mififlinburg, 865  911 

New  Berlin, 672  646 

Union, 820  840 

White  Deer,        1)639  15676 


14,433  i5>036 


LIST  OF   OFFICIALS. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  SENATE. 


District  composed  of  the  Counties  of 
Northumberland,  Union,  Colum- 
bia, Susquehanna  and  Luzerne. 

1814-15,  Thomas  Murray,  junior. 

1816-17,  Charles  Fraser. 

1818-19,  Simon  Snyder. 

1820-21,  ReclmondConyngham. 

Northumberland  and  Union. 
1822,        Andrew  Albright. 
1823-26,  Lewis  Dewart. 
1826-30,  John  Ray. 
1830-34,  Samuel  .T.  Packer. 
1834-38.  Isaac  Slenker. 

Perry,     Mifflin,    Juniata,     Union, 

and  Huntinydon. 
1837-38,  Isaac  Slenker. 
1838-39,  Robert  P.  Maclav. 
1841-42,  Rol)ert  P.  Maclay. 

1843,  Henry  C.  Eyer.  ' 

Mifflin,  Union,  and  Juniata. 

1844,  Henry  C.  Eyer. 
1845-48,  Jacob  Wagenseller.* 

*  Diea,  1847.  f  Vice  Wagenseller. 


1848,        Ner  Middleswarth.f 
1849-51,  Jonathan  J.  Cunningliam. 
1852-54,  EliSlifer. 
1855-57,  James  M.  Sellers.  J 

Clinton,  Lycoming,  Centre,  and 
Union. 
1858,        Andrew  Gregg. 
1859-61,  Andrew  Gregg. 
1862-64,  Henrj^  Johnson. 

Lycoming,  Union,  and  Snyder. 
1865-67,  John  Walls. 
1868-70,  John  B.  Beck. 
1871-73,  Andrew  H.  Dill. 

Snyder,  Perry,  Northumberland, 
and  Union. 

1872-73,  Andrew  H.  Dill. 
1873-76,  Andrew  H.  Dill. 

Union,  Snyder,  and  Northumber- 
land. 
1875-76,  Andrew  H.  Dill. 


t  Died  in  Philadelphia,  Jun-  21,  1877. 


MEMBERS  OF  ASSEMBLY, 


District  composed  of  the  Counties  of 
Northumberland.,  Union,  and  Co- 
lumbia. 

1814-15,  David  E.  Owen. 
Rol)ert  Willett. 
.loseph  Hutchinson. 
Henry  Shaffer. 

Union  County. 
1815-16,  Ner  Middleswarth. 


1815- 
1816- 

1817- 
1818- 
1819- 
1820- 
55S 


•16,  Jacol)  Brobst. 

■17,  Ner  Middleswarth. 

.Tacol)  BroV)st. 
•18,  Frederick  Stoes. 

Joscpli  Stilhvell. 
-19,  J()hn  Ka^•. 

Ner  Middleswarth. 
•20,  Jolni  Ray. 

Ner  Middleswarth. 
21,  Fredcricl<  Wise. 

Dan  Caldwell. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


559 


1821-22, 

iSTer  Middleswarth. 

1847, 

John  McMinn. 

James  Dale. 

1848, 

JohnMcMinn. 

1822-23, 

Simon  Snyder. 

Samuel  Weirick. 

James  Dale. 

1849, 

Samuel  Weirick. 

1823-24, 

James  Dale. 

John  INlcLaughlin. 

Simon  Snyder. 

1850, 

P:ii  Slifer. 

1824-25, 

Ner  jMidd'leswarth. 

John  McLaughlin. 

William  Forster. 

1851, 

Eli  Slifer. 

1825-26, 

Xer  Middleswarth. 

1852, 

William  Sharon. 

James  Madden. 

1853, 

John  Beale. 

1826-27, 

James  Madden. 

1854, 

John  W.  Siinonton. 

William  Forster,  Junior. 

1855, 

J.  W.  Crawford. 

1827-28, 

Ner  Middleswarth. 

John  Dreisbach. 

Union,  Juniata,  and  Snyder. 

1828-29, 

John  Dreisbach. 

1856, 

George  W.  Strouse. 

Ner  Middleswarth. 

1857, 

Thomas  Bower. 

1829-30, 

Ner  Middleswarth. 

1858, 

Thomas  Hayes. 

Philip  Ruhl. 

Daniel  Witiner. 

1830-31, 

Ner  Middleswarth. 

1859, 

John  J.  Patterson. 

Philip  Ruhl. 

William  F.  Wagenseller. 

1831-32, 

Henry  Roush. 

1860, 

Thomas  Hayes. 

Philip  Ruhl. 

"SMlliam  F.  Wagenseller. 

1832-33, 

William  L.  Harris. 

1861, 

Thomas  Hayes. 

George  Weirick. 

John  J.  Patterson. 

1833-34, 

Robert  P.  Maclay. 

1862, 

H.  K.  Ritter. 

Simon  Shatfer. 

J.  Beaver. 

1834-35, 

Ner  Middleswarth, 

1863, 

H.  K.  Ritter. 

Jacob  Hummel. 

George  W.  Strouse. 

1835-36, 

Ner  ^Middleswarth. 

1864, 

John  Balsbach. 

John  Montelius. 

Samuel  H.  Orwig. 

Union,  Juniata,  and  Mifflin. 

Lycoming,  TJnion,  and  Snyder. 

1836-37 

Henr^'  Yearick. 

1865, 

S.  H.  Orwig. 

Enoch  Beale. 

Samuel  Alleman, 

James  Hughes. 

Charles  \Mlson. 

1837-38 

Abraham  S.  Wilson. 

1866, 

S.  C.  Wingard. 

James  Hughes. 

D.  A.  Irwin. 

Henry  Yearick. 

Isaac  Rothrock. 

1838-39 

John  Funk. 

1867, 

S.  C.  Wingard. 

William  Ramsey. 

Charles  D.  Roush. 

John  Montelius. 

J.  H.  Wright. 

1840, 

Abraham  S.  Wilson. 

1868, 

R.  H.  Lawshe. 

Isaac  Hottenstein. 

C.  D.  Roush. 

William  Cox,  senior. 

George  G.  Glass. 

1841, 

Ner  Middleswarth. 

1869, 

W.  P.  I.  Painter. 

John  Funk. 

Thomas  Church. 

Josei^h  A.  Bell. 

William  G.  Herrold. 

1842, 

John  H.  McCrum. 

1870, 

Theodore  Hill. 

William  Ross. 

Thomas  Church. 

John  A.  Vanvalzah. 

Andrew  H.  Dill. 

1843, 

Thomas  J.  Postlethwaite. 

1871, 

Samuel  Wilson. 

David  Glenn. 

John  Cummings. 

Samuel  Reber. 

William  Young. 

Union  and  Juniata. 

Snyder  and  Union. 

1844, 

John  Hall, 

1872, 

William  G.  Herrold. 

John  Adams. 

1873, 

Charles  S.  Wolfe. 

1845, 

John  Hall. 

1874, 

Charles  S.  Wolfe. 

John  Adams. 

1846, 

John  jNIcCrum. 

Unio7i. 

Jacob  McCorley. 

1875-76 

,  Charles  S.  Wolfe. 

1847, 

Jacob  McCorley. 

1877-78 

,  Alfred  Hayes. 

<6o 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Seth  Chapman*  .  . 
Ellis  Lewis,  .  .  . 
Abraham  S.  Wilson, 


Hugh  Wilson,    . 
John  Bolender,! 
Adam  Light, .     . 
George  Schnable, 
John  Baskin, 
Joseph  Still  well, 
John  Montelius, 
Ja(3ob  Wittenmyer 
James  Harrison 
James  Marshall 
Jacob  Wittenmyer,  J 
*  Resigned,  October  10, 


PRESIDENT  JUDGES. 

Jnlv  11,  1811 II  S.  S.  Woods,  .  . 
Oct.  14,  1833  Joseph  C.  Bucher, . 
Mar.  30,  1842  || 

ASSOCIATE  JUDGES. 


Nov.  20,  1801 
Nov.    7,  1871 


Philip  Ruhl,  ....  Nov.  17,  1855 
.John  W.  Simonton,  .  Nov.  12,  1856 
John  Walls,  ....  Nov.  20,  1860 
John  W.  Simonton,  .  Nov.  23,  1861 
Martin  Dreisbach,  .  .  Feb.  3,  1865 
Martin  Dreisbach,  .  .  Nov.  6,  1865 
John  W.  Simonton,  .  Nov.  9,  1866 
Jacob  Hummel,  .  .  Nov.  9,  1870 
Cyrus  Horta,  ....  Nov.  17,  1871 
Jacob  Hummel.  .  .  Dec.  3,  1875 
William  F.  Wilson,  .  Dec.  8,  1876 
1833.      t  Resigned,  December  11, 1820.       |  Legislated  out. 


.  .  Oct. 

11, 

1813 

•  •  Aug 

26, 

1815 

.  .  Dec. 

11, 

1820 

.  .  Mar. 

26, 

1840 

.  .  Mar. 

15, 

1841 

.  .  Jan. 

21, 

1843 

.  .  Feb. 

27, 

1845 

",  .  Feb. 

28, 

1848 

.  .  Mar. 

/ , 

1850 

.  .  Nov. 

10, 

1851 

,t  .  Nov. 

10. 

1851 

DEPUTY  ATTORNEYS  GENERAL. 


William  Irwin, 1814 

John  Lashells, 1815 

M.  McKinney,  junior,      .     .     .  1818 

James  Merrill, 1821 

.John  Mumma, 1824 

C.  A.  Jiradtbrd, 1826 

John  A.  Sterrett,    .     .     .  Feb.  1828 

John  Wyeth, Sept.  1828 


I  Isaac  Slenker, 1830 

Samuel  Weirick 1836 

Rol)ert  B.  Barber, 1830 

John  Porter, 1842 

George  W.  Graham,     .     •     .     .  1843 

Robert  B.  Barber, 1846 

William  Van  Gezer,     ....  1848 


DISTRICT  ATTORNEYS. 


George  Hill,  .  .  . 
William  Van  Gezer, 
James  B.  Hamlin,  . 


Dec.  1850' 
Dec.  1853 
Dec.  1856 


Joseph  C.  Bucher,  . 
Alfred  Hayes,  .  . 
Andrew  A.  I>eiser, 


Dec.  1859 
Dec.  1862 
Sept.  1876 


PROTHONOTARIES. 


Simon  Snyder ,  j  r.,* 
.Joseph  Stillwel'l,  . 
George  A.  Snyder, 
Jose[)h  Stillwell,  . 
Rolxirt  F.  Maclay,  . 
Sanuiel  Roush,  .  . 
.Jacob  H.  Hornintr. 


Oct.  14,  1813 
Feb.  7,  1821 
Jan.  22,  1824 
Jan.  28,  1830 
Jan.  6,  1836 
Jan.  31,  1839 
Nov.  14,  18.39 

♦Simon  Snyder,  junior.  Esquire,  was  born  at  Lancaster,  November  9, 
died  at  Harrisburg,  May  10,  ISSS. 


John  P.  Gutelius,  .     .  Oct.    13,  1840 
William  Roshong,     .  Nov.  12,  1841 

Jacob  Haus Nov.  11,  1847 

Joseph  Eyster,  .  .  .  Nov.  25,  1850 
Sainuel  Roush,  .  .  .  Nov.  22,  1853 
James  W.  Sands,  .  .  Nov.  — ,  1862 
C.  II.  Hassenplug,  .  Nov,  18,  1865 
1763,  and 


REGISTERS  AND  RECORDERS. 


Simon Snvder,  junior,  Oct.    14,1813 

Peter  Hackenberg,  .  Feb.    7,  1821 

Jolm  Ma(!lav,      .     .  .  Jan.   22,  1824 

Samuel  RfMish,  .     .  .  Jan.  28,  1830 

fJcorge  Aurand,      .  .  Jan.     6,  1836 

Robert  Forst(!r,.     .  .Jan.    31,1839 

JoJm  (jilover,      .     .  .  Nov.  14,  1839 

Sanuiel  Aurand,     .  .  Nov.  12,  1842 


Henry  Aurand,  junior,  Aug.  25,  1845 

Daniel  Bellman,     .  .  Nov.  17,  1845 

Christinn  lirevman,  .  Nov.  22,  1851 

J.  W.  Pennington,  .  Nov.  29,  1854 

George  Merrill,       .  .  Nov.  27,  1857 

I<:iisha  H.  Weikel,  .  Nov.  28,  1863 

Reuben  Kline,  .    .  .  Nov.  22,  1869 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


56/ 


SHERIFFS. 


John  Ray Dec. 

Frederick  Wise,  .  .  Oct. 
Isaac  Mertz,  ....  Oct. 
Jacob  Rlioads,  .  .  .  Oct. 
Pliilip  Seebold,  .  .  Oct. 
John  Haas,  ....  Oct. 
John  Cuunnings,  .  .  Oct. 
JolmCummings,  jr.,  .  Nov. 
William  Glover,  .  .  Oct. 
Israel  Gutelius,  .  .  Oct. 
John  M.  Benfer,     .     .  Oct. 


13, 

1813 

30, 

1816 

30, 

1819 

21, 

1822 

20, 

1825 

24, 

1828 

IS, 

1831 

3, 

1834 

17, 

1837 

24, 

1840 

17, 

1843 

Henry  S.  Beyer,  . 
Archibald  Thomas, 
John  Kessler,  .  . 
Daniel  D.  Giildin,  . 
Lafayette  Albright, 
Thomas  Church,  . 
Lafayette  Albright, 
Michael  Kleckner, 
Lafayette  All-right, 
Thomas  P.  Warner, 


Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Dec. 


24,  1846 
24,  1849 
27,  1852 
24,  1855 
16,  1861 

16,  1864 

17,  1867 
10,  1870 
31,  1873 
26,  1876 


COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 


1813,  Dan  Caldwell,  Frederick  Gut- 

elius, and  Philip  Moore. 

1814,  James  Dale. 

1815,  John  Bower. 

1816,  Henry  Roush. 

1817,  Mishael  Lincoln. 

1818,  Jacob  German. 

1819,  William  Kessler. 

1820,  Sebastian  Witmer. 

1821,  Joseph  Fuehrer. 

1822,  Christian  Miller. 

1823,  Uriah  Silsby. 

1824,  George  Weirick. 

1825,  Samuel  Aurand. 

1826,  John  Montelius. 

1827,  Thomas  Youngman. 

1828,  John  Ziegler. 

1829,  William  Betz. 

1830,  Peter  Hackenburg. 

1831,  Philip  Franck. 

1832,  J.  F.  Wilson. 

1833,  John  Keller. 

1834,  James  Harrison. 

1835,  Samuel  B.  Barber. 

1836,  John  K.  Snyder. 

1837,  Archibald  Thomas. 

1838,  Jacob  Hummel. 

1839,  Henry  Hilbish. 

1840,  Samuel  Booi^. 

■  1841,  Jacob  McCorley. 

1842,  Solomon  Engel. 

1843,  Michael  Clemens. 

1844,  Henry  Saunders,  junior. 


1845,  .Tacob  Martin. 

1846,  R.  H.  Laird. 

1847,  Joseph  Winters. 

1848,  .lames  Barbin. 

1849,  John  Wilt. 

1850,  George  Heimbach. 

1851,  S.  K.  Herrold. 

1852,  Adam  Sheckler. 

1853,  Sem  Leitzel. 

1854,  John  D.  Romig. 

1855,  R.  V.  B.  Lincoln,  Jacob  Hum- 

mel, George  Schocli. 

1856,  William  Rule. 

1857,  R.  V.  B.  Lhicoln. 

1858,  James  Pross. 

1859,  D.  H.  Kelly. 

1860,  F.  Bolender. 

1861,  J.  M.  Walters. 

1862,  Robert  Reed. 

1863,  Sauuiel  :Mar.shall. 

1864,  MicJiael  Kleckner. 

1865,  Michael  Brown. 

1866,  T.  V.  Harbeson. 

1867,  S.  B.  Hoffman. 

1868,  E.  S.  Gudvkunst. 

1869,  T.  V.  Harbeson. 

1870,  S.  B.  Hoffman. 

1871,  Willam  Steans. 

1872,  J.  W.  Kauffman. 

1873,  Joseph  Boop. 

1874,  George  Schoch. 

1875,  Joseph  Boop,  George  Schoch 

and  .Tohn  Yarger. 


COMMISSIONERS'  CLERKS. 


1813,  Flavel  Roan. 

1817,  Frederick  Gutelius. 

1821,  John  Mauch. 

1831,  J.  H.  Hornhig. 

1834,  S.  Weirich. 

1836,  M.  H.  Weaver. 

1841,  J.  J.  ]Maclay. 

36 


1843,  J.  S.  Dubois. 

1851,  C.  Brevman. 

1851,  (Nov.,"^)  David  Schwenck. 

1853,  A.  J.  Peters. 

1855,  Andrew  Kennedv. 

1869,  Peter  Hursh. 


^62 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


COUNTY  TREASURERS. 


IS14, 

Michael  Sohoch. 

1851, 

1817, 

Joseph  Stilhvell. 

1853, 

1818, 

Thomas  Shii)ton. 

1855, 

1820, 

Christoi)her  Seebold. 

1857, 

1823, 

William  Kessler. 

1859, 

182(5, 

Samuel  Wilson. 

LSGl, 

1829, 

Samuel  Aurand. 

18(33, 

1831, 

.Jacob  Mavick. 

18(35, 

1835, 

Isaac  Peters. 

1867, 

1838, 

.Tohn  P.  Seebold. 

18(39, 

1841, 

ISIiohael  Kleekner. 

1871, 

1843, 

Pliilip  Grross. 

1845, 

Archibald  Thomas. 

1847, 

Charles  Seebold. 

1873, 

1849, 

Daniel  Horlacher. 

1875, 

DEPUTY  SURVE 

Jacob  Mauck. 

Henrv  Solomon. 

R.  H."  Laird. 

H.  P.  Sheller. 

R.  H.  Laird. 

John  A.  Mertz. 

William  .rt)nes. 

John  Hayes. 

William  Jones. 

William  Hauck. 

John  Hertz,  deceased.  Wil- 
liam .Jones  aijpointed  to  fill 
vacancy. 

James  Press. 

B.  F.  Eaton. 


1813,  Simon  Snyder,  junior. 
1818,  Adam  Wilt. 
1821,  John  Haves. 
1833,  Robert  G.  H.  Hayes. 
183(5,  Solomon  Engle. 
183(5,  Michael  H.  Weaver. 
1839,  Robert  G.  H.  Hayes. 
1846,  James  Madden. 


1846,  Philip  Hilbisli. 

1850,  Robert  G.  H.  Haves. 

1854,  J.  Henrv  Motz. 

1858,  Wilson  I.  Limi. 

1859,  Conrad  Sheckler. 
1868,  Reuben  F.  Brown. 
1874.  Conrad  Sheckler. 


CORONERS. 


1816,  Isaac  ISlertz. 

1819,  Daniel  Winter. 

1822,  Jacob  Svvineford. 

1825,  Christian  Shroyer. 

1828,  Robert  Vanvalzah,  junior. 

1831,  John  Bower. 


1834,  Jacob  Aurand. 
1837,  .Joseph  Long. 

1841,  Matthew  Brewer. 

1842,  Jacob  Reichlev. 
1845,  John  D.  Smith. 
1858,  William  L.  Harris. 


NOTARIES  PUBLIC. 


Chri-stian  Miller,    .  .  .Jan.      6, 

Henrv  C.  Hickok,  .  Ajnil  12, 

George  A.  Frick,    .  .  Dec.    28, 

O.  Norton  Worden,  .  Mav    14, 

John  B.  Miller,      .  .  Aug.  12, 

Sannicl  Sliler,    .     .  .  Dec.      9, 

William  Jones,       .  .  .Jan.    12, 

An<lre\v  Kciunedy,  .  .Tan.    15, 

George  A.  Frick,    ,  .  Jan.      2, 

Samuel  Sliler,    .     .  .  Jan.    12, 

Andrew  Kennedy,  .  June  24, 

.Joseph  J.  11.  Orwig,  .  Jan.    14, 

Samuel  Sliler,    .     \  .  Jan.    14, 

Andrew  Kcjunedv,  .  .June  29, 

S.  P.  Myers,  .     .  "  .  .  April   7, 

Samuel  Sliler,   .     .  .  Jan.    11, 


1820 

1S53 

1S54 

1855 

1856 

1857 

lS.-,8 

1S5S, 

lS(il 

1861 
1861 
1S64 
18(54 
1864 
1865 
1867 


Andrew  Kenned^-, 

Simon  P.  Mvers,  . 

Paul  (Jeddes,      .  . 

John  Stitzer,       .  . 

Samuel  Sliler,    .  . 
Mellville  Reese  Dill, 

Jolm  S.  Stitzer,  . 

Sannicl  Slil'cr,    .  . 

William  Rule,   .  . 

I).  B.  Miller,       .  . 

Sanniel  Slifer,    .  . 

John  Stitzer,       .  . 

William  Rule.   .  . 

D.  B.  Miller,      .  . 
G.  N.  LeFevre, 


Oct.  30, 
April   7, 

Julv  15, 

Nov.  12, 

Jan.  6, 

May  5, 

Nov.  15, 

Jan.  9, 
April  30, 

May  (), 
Jan. 
.Jan. 
Mar. 
Mav 
Mar. 


12, 


186 

186 

186 

186fl 

1870 

1870 

IST-J 

1S7:; 

is7;i 

1S7:; 

1876 

1S76 

1876 

187(? 

1877 


AAW.4LS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


5(>3 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE  BY  APPOINTMENT. 


John  Bolender, .  .  .  IMur.  2r,  1813 
George  Weirick,  .  .  Mar.  2f=,  1->13 
Thomas  Shipton,  .  .  Aug.  27,  1813 
Thomas  Youiiginan,  .  Nov.  10,  1813 
John  Cumminijs,  .  .  Deo.  10,  1813 
Christopher  Seebold,  .  ^Slar.  2(3,  1813 
Henrv  Spvker,  .  .  .  Mar.  30,  1813 
Adam  Wilt,  ....  Mar.  26,  1813 
Henrv  Yeariok,  .  .  :Mar.  26,  1813 
John'Wilson,  .  .  .  Nov.  1,  1813 
Philip  Burcluut,  .  .  Mar.  26,  1813 
Joseph  Fuehrer,  .  .  Mar.  26,  1813 
Peter Hackenberg, jr.,  Mar.  26,  1813 
Dan  Caldwell,  .  .  .  Mar.  26,  1813 
Christian  Miller,  .  .  Jan.  25,  1814 
P'rederick  Gutelius,  .  Nov.  11,  1814 
Abraham  Aurand,  .  June  23,  1814 
Williani  Kessler,*  .  .  June  24,  1816 
John  Schnee,  .  .  .  May  13,  1816 
George  Schnable,  .  .  July  14,  1817 
Jacob  German,!  •  •  ^^'^1  9i  1817 
Robert  Willett,  .  .  .  Oct.  20,  1817 
Andrew  IMcClenahan,  May  30,  1817 
Samviel  Wilson,  .  .  June  3,  1819 
Michael  Rathlbn,  .  .  Mar.  16,  1819 
John  Reifsnyder,  .  .  June  3,  1819 
John  Bassler,  .  .  .  JNIav  17,  1819 
George  Aurand,  .  .  Jaii.  4,  1820 
John  Nesbit,  ....  :\rar.  26,  1821 
James  McClellan,  .  June  4,  1821 
Samuel  Haupt,  .  .  .  Oct.  4,  1821 
John  Glover,  j  unior,  .  Mar.  21,  1822 
Jacob  German,  .  .  .  Mar.  29,  1822 
Valentine  Haas,  .  .  Sept.  23,  1822  i 
Sanuiel  Ludwig,  .  .  Mar.  29,  1822 
Charles  Weirman,  .  .  Dee.  11,1823 
Joseph  St  ill  well,  .  .  Nov.  18,  1823 
Josepli  :Miisser,  .  .  .  Dec.  8,  1823 
Mathew  Brewer,  J  .  .  Dec.  10,  1823 
John  Mauck,  ....  June  22,  1825 
Solomon  Engle,  ^.  .  Apr.  17,  1827 
William  Cameron,  .  Feb.  19,  1827 
Thomas  R.  Lewis,  .     .  Nov.  23,  1827 


Henry  Strubel,  .     .     . 

Apr. 

14 

1828 

Henry  Herold,  .     .     . 

Apr. 

14 

1828 

Hottenstine,  Dr.  Isaac 

Mar. 

12, 

1828 

Michael  Wittenmoyer 

,  A])r. 

20 

1829 

Isaac  Smith,   .     .     .     . 

Apr. 

20 

1829 

.James  Fleming  Limi. 

Jan. 

o 

1829 

.Jolin  Maclay,      .     .     . 

Dec. 

7 

1829 

Robert  G.  H.  Hayes,  . 

JNIar. 

12 

1829 

Simon  Snyder,  .'    .     . 

Feb. 

3 

1829 

John  Rank,    .     .     .     . 

Feb. 

3 

1829 

Jacob  McOorley,     .     . 

Feb. 

3 

1829 

George  Clingaii,      .     . 

Dec. 

15 

1829 

Amos  Stroll,  .     .     .     . 

j\fav 

5 

1830 

James  Madden, .     .     . 

Fob. 

24 

1831 

Sanuiel  Geddes,      .     . 

Aug. 

2 

■^ 

1831 

John  Reilsnyder,   .     . 

Ap?. 

25 

1831 

Jacob  J.  Marr,    .     .     . 

Mav 

31 

1831 

Jacob  Musser,     .     .     . 

INIay 

17 

1832 

William  Kessler,    .     . 

Jan. 

11 

1833 

William  Roshong, .     . 

Sept 

3 

18.34 

Jonathan  Farnswarth 

Feb. 

2 

1835 

John  Highly,      .     .     . 

Nov. 

18 

1835 

Isaac  Jones,    .     .     .     . 

jNIar. 

27 

1835 

Samuel  Roush,  .     .     . 

Dec. 

1 

1835 

Henrv  Noll,  .     .     .     . 

Dec. 

9 

1835 

Pete/H.  Hawk,      .     . 

Nov. 

4 

1835 

John  Lenig,   .     .     .     . 

Apr. 

20 

1835 

John  Emmit,      .     .     . 

Mar. 

14 

1835 

David  Schwenck,  .     . 

.luiie 

7 

1836 

James  Harrison.      .     . 

Feb. 

3 

1836 

Samuel  B.  Barber, 

June 

7 

1836 

Peter  Hackenberg,  sr. 

.lune 

8 

1836 

Philip  Ruhl,  .     ,.     . 

Mar. 

27 

1837 

.losepli  McCool, .     .     . 

Nov. 

6 

1837 

Daniel  Bellman,     .     . 

Mar. 

3 

1837 

Andrew  Glover,     .     . 

ISIar. 

27 

1837 

John  Courtney, .     .     . 

Oct. 

24 

1838 

Lewis  Bertram, .     .     . 

Dec. 

25 

1838 

Levi  B.  Christ,   .     .     . 

Jan. 

3 

1838 

Jacob  F.  Hummel, 

Nov. 

14 

1838 

Jacob  Riblet,      .     . 

Dec. 

26 

1838 

Conrad  Stock,     .     .     . 

Jan. 

11 

1839 

George  N.  Youngman 

,  Apr. 

16 

,1839 

*  Kesigned,  April  30, 1819. 


t  Resigned,  December  14,  1821. 


I  Resigned,  September  27,  1838. 


NECROLOGY, 


COMMENCED  BY  JAMES  F.  LINN,  Esquire,  in  1826. 


Date  of 
Death. 


Ackerman,  Mrs.  C.,i 
Adams,  .Joseph,        ! 
.^danis,  William,      j 
Adams,  Mrs.  Mary,' 
Aikey,  Lewis, 
Albert,  .racob, 
Alljert,  l^enedict, 
Alsbaeb,  Solomon, 
Alter,  ]\Iis.  Mary, 
Alter,  Abraham, 
Ambers,  Mrs.  M., 
Ammon,  Andrew, 
Ammon.  Samuel, 
Ammoji,  lieyer, 
Anmion,  Elizabeth, 
Anderson,  .lames, 
Anderson,  .lere., 
Anderson  Moses, 
Andrews,  (George, 
Angle,  Mrs.  L.  T., 
Angstadt,  Mrs., 
Angstadt,  Oideon, 
Angstadt,  I'.enj., 
Antliojiy,  IIon..T.  B. 
Arbegast,  Eve, 
Ani,  Dr.  .Joseph  B., 
Armstrong,  Mrs.  S., 
Armstrong,  Wni., 
Armstrong,  .James, 
Armstrong,  Marg't, 
Arnold,  (ieorge, 
Atwood,  Ilenfv, 
A  libel.  Mrs.  Barb., 
Aui'aiid,  Samuel, 
Aurand,  Mrs.  Geo., 
Ani-and,  Aliram, 
Aiirand,  Henry, 
AnspiK-li.Susan'h., 
Baeklioiise,  Dr.S.T. 


.Jan. 

.Jan. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Apr. 

July 

May 

.Jan. 

Feb. 

.Jul3' 

Sept. 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

May 

.Ian. 

.June 

Jan. 

Oct. 

A  pr. 

Feb. 

Jan. 

.Jan. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

.Julv 

May 

A  pr. 

Jnlv 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Jan. 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Dec. 


1874 
1825 
1868 
1872 
1862 
1848 
1875 
1828 
1817 
1829 
1861 
1842' 
1852 
1862 
1868 
1847 
1864 
1874 
1860 
1871 
1853 
1854 
1863 
1851 
1868 
1861 
1829 
1854 
1867 
1869 
1848 
1836 
1.S43 
1S45 
1848 
1855 
1844 
1842 
1848 


76 


55 


90 


60 


82 


Badger,  Robert,         Oct.    16, 

Baker,  .John,  — , 

Baker,  Peter,  — , 

Baker,  Mrs.  Sarah,    Oct. 
Baker,  Jacob,  Oct. 

Baker,  Mrs.  Ann  S.,  Apr. 
Baker,  John,  Ajn*. 

Baker,  John,  W.  D.,  Sept. 
Barber,  Robert,  Nov. 

Bar))er,  Mrs.  Mary,  Feb. 
Barber,  Col.  Sam'l,  Mar. 
Barbei-,  Thomas,  Apr. 
Barber,  Mrs.  S.  A.,  Dec. 
Barber,  Rev.  D.  M.,  Oct. 
Barber,  Mrs.  A.  B.,  Dec. 
Barber,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Apr. 
Barber,  Eleanor,  Ang, 
Barlier,  Mrs.  Jane,  Feb. 
Barlier,  James  W.,  Mav 
Barkdoll,  John  H.,  IMay 
Barnes,  Charles  Ij.,  Jan. 
Branhart,  Mrs.  S.7  Feb.  18, 
Barnhart,  Rev.  W.,  Apr.  19, 
Barrett,  Able  C,  Sept.  10, 
liarrett,  Mrs.  S.  H.,ljan.  8, 
liarton,  Esq.,  S.  S.,  [Sept.  14, 
IJaskins,  JTon.  J.,  |Sept.  26, 
Jiaum,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Sept.  23, 
Bavun,  Samuel,  Oct.      3, 

Baum,  Jolui  M.,  jjune  29, 
Beaver,  Rev.  Peter,  Aug.  26, 
Beaver,  W.  M.,  Nov.  13, 

P>eaver,  Mrs.  E.  G.,  Oct.  30, 
Beatty,  Jane,  Mar.    4, 

71    liecher,  Capt.  D.  I^.,  Mar.  17, 
lliechtel,  Peter,  P^eb.    3, 

62  '  liechtel,  Samuel,      lApr.    9, 
29    Beck,  Henry,  Jan.     2, 

44     Jieck,  Isaac  L.,  May  21, 

j6^ 


1-1, 
26, 
30, 
17, 

<^, 
25, 
13, 
30, 

3, 
21, 


837 
1821 
1  ;23 
1853.^ 
18.55  42 
1862  35 
1868  .58 
1874  82 
JS4191 
1846; 
1846 
1S5() 
lS(i0  5(i 
ISiloCd 

1871  30 

1872  86 

1873  SI 

1874  (i(» 
1877  .S2 
1S68 
1862  711 
1854  7S 
1862  :!.■) 
1S49 
1872 
1864  65 
185]  tV.) 
lS39(il 
]S-(2 
lS6-_'39 
l.SlOiw 
1S54  22 
IS6141 
]S:i9(52 
185884 
1852 
1S70.58 
IS  16 
1856  45 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLFV. 


,'6,- 


Beck,  Adam, 
Beok,  Mrs.  Susau'h, 
Bec'kly,  sr.,  Daniel, 
Becrker,  John, 
Beckly,  Benjamin, 
Beeber,  Jolm, 
Beisel,  Mrs.  Susan, 
Beiler,  sr.,  .John, 
Beli,  Berrvhill, 
Bell,  W.  (3., 
Bell,  Mrs.  M.  R., 
Benner,  .John, 
Benner,  George, 
Benner,  Elizabeth, 
Benner,  .John  B., 
l^ennett,  Elizabeth, 
Bennett,  Charles, 
Berkley,  Josej^h, 
Bertolette,  Jona., 
Betz,  Solomon, 
Beyer,  Daniel, 
Beyer,  Charles, 
Beyer,  Dr.  Charles, 
Bibighaus,Dr.  Jno., 
Bibighaus,  Mrs.  J., 
Biddle,  .John, 
Billington,  Thomas, 
Billm^er,  Clara, 
Billmyer,  Martin, 
Billmyer,  Mrs.  S., 
Binns,  .John, 
Bird,  .Jonathan, 
Bishop,  .John, 
Black,  .James, 
Black.  Mrs.,  Isa'la, 
Black,  JJannah, 
I31ack,  Marv, 
Black,  Thomas  S., 
Black,  Mrs.  M.  B.. 
Blackwell,  Mrs. 
Blair,  .Jane, 
Blvthe,  Esq.,  Cal., 
Bo'al,  Capt.  David, 
Boal,  Esq.,  Geo.  F., 
Boljst,  Michael, 
Bockener,  Isaac, 
Bogar,  .Jacob, 
Bogar,  John  D., 
Bogar,  Hester, 
Boggs,  Rose  G., 
Boop,  Peter, 
Bergstresser,  Geo., 
Bossier,  .John, 
Boveard,  Mrs., 
Bower,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Bower,  .Jacob, 
Bower,  William, 
Bovver,  George, 


Date  of    |S 
Death;     I^ 


Dec.  21, 
Mar.  11, 
July  22, 
Sept.  18, 
May  29, 
May  11, 
Feb.  28, 
Mar.  3, 
Nov.  15, 
.June  27, 
July  28, 
Mar.  8, 
Nov.  10, 
Dec.  29, 
Sept.  1, 
Mar.  2, 
Aug.  0, 
Oct.  7, 
Jan.  1, 
Oct.  23, 
Oct.  31, 
July  19, 
Sept.  18, 
July  2, 
Mar.  1, 
!Aug.  29, 
Mar.  10, 
June  25, 
Apr.  3, 
Nov.  14, 
June  16, 
Feb.  13, 
Nov.  21, 
Mar.  9, 
Apr.  25, 
Aug.  11, 
Apr.  18, 
Nov.  29, 
Feb.  7, 
Nov.  23, 
Nov.  17, 
Jvme  27, 
Oct.  11, 
Jan.  18, 
Mav  1, 
Sept.  28, 
Aug.  15, 
Apr.  15, 
Aug.  Ifi, 
Aug.  4, 
Aug.  14, 
May  3, 
.June  4, 
Nov.  20, 
Mar.  1, 
Sept.  22, 
Dec.  21, 
Aua:.  13, 


1867i91 

1870  89 

18311 

1843:84 

185(3 
1872,83 


1862 

1868 

1861 

1875 

1876 

1854 

1854 

1834 

1875 

1872 

1874 

18.50 

1874 

1837 

1826 

1866 

1830 

1860 

1861 

1867 

1856 

1844 

1862 

1874 1 53 

18(50  88 

1873  64 

1854 

1837 

1847 

1858i59 

1862,67 

1870|61 

1872  79 

1849 

1861 

1849 

1824 

1856 

1841 

1828 

1826 

1862 

18631 

1872 '49 

1872  70 

1856  72 

1859  82 

1847  91 

1846) 

1847:86 

1851 ! 

1854  %o 


76 


56 


45 


44 


Date  op 
Death. 


Bowes,  .John,  — ,  1832 

Boyd,  John  B.,  Aug.    1,  1845 

Boyer,  INIrs.  Barb'ra  Mar.  1,  1868  93 
Boyer,  Mrs.  Sarah,  Jan.  3,  1872  68 
Boyer,  Samuel,  Apr.  10,  1874  69 

Bradford,  E.  G.,  May  17,  1836 
Brady,  Charlotte,  June  6,  1848 
Braucher,  .Jacob,  July  7,  1870 
Braucher,  George,  May  11,  187480 
Brautigam,  Daniel,  Mar.  10,  1863  75 
Brause,  Jonathan,  .Jan.  12,  1876  73 
Brevman,  Christ'n,  Mav  26,  1862  67 
Brice,  Tliomas,  Oct".    20,  1858  53 

Bridge,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Nov.  22,  1873  62 
Bright,  Schrever,  Nov.  15,  1854 '16 
Bright,  George,  Mav  18,  1862  62 

Bright,  Jacob,  l^eb.  13,  1865  75 

Bright,  Joseph,  Mar.    6,  1872  67 

Brobst,  Jacob,  Mar.  22,  1825  73 

Brooks,  Enos,  Feb.  23,  1872  66 

Brown,  .John,  Esq  ,Julv  27,  1831  65 
Brown,  John,  Dec.  13,  1838  82 

Brown,  John,  Aug.    7,  1845162 

Brown,  John,  Dec.  30,  1846!61 

Brown,  Christ.  G.,     July  29,  1850| 
Brown,  William,       Julv  15,  1855'59 
Brown,  Mrs.  Susan, ISept.  28,  1858'30 
Brown,  Christian,     iJulv  29,  I86OI 
Brown,  Matthew,      Aug.  — ,  1860  67 
Brown,  Mrs.  Han'h,  Jan.     7,  1865  62 
l^rown,  Lt.  Hogan, 
Brown,  Abraham, 
Brown,  .Jacob, 
Brown,  Christian, 
Brown,  George, 
Brown,  William, 
Brown,  Michael,        Mar.    9,  1876 
Bryson,  Robert,         Oct.    30,  1832 
Brvson,  Rev.  John,  Aug.    3,  1855 
Bucher,  Maggie,  G.,  Mar.  23,  1869 
Buckner,  Isaac,  Sept.  28,  1828 

Buckner,  William,  — ,  1849 

Buckner,  Amelia,  Aug.  18,  18.58 
Buckner,  Sarah,  May  18,  1864 
Budd,  Mrs.  .\nna,  Aug.  4,  1866 
Buoy,  Edward,  Feb.  20,  1874 

Burn,  Sarah,  Dec.     5,  1842 

Burr,  Henry  H.,  Nov.  21,  18.53 
Burrell,  Joseph,  Oct.  15,  1827 
Burris,  John-L.  Mar.  5,  1869 
Bussler,  Mrs.,  Fall  of  1825. 

Butterfleld,  Jonas,  Oct.  3,  1826 
Bvler,  Samuel,  Mav '28,  1868 

('adwallader,  Seth,  'Aug.  26,  1863 
Caldwell  John,  JMav  — ,  1834 
Caldwell,  Marv,  I  Aug.  — ,  1834 
Caldwell,  Dan",  .Dec.   16,  1836 

Caldwell,  James  D.,  Mar.  14,  1847 


May  10,  18til| 
Nov.  11,  1869  81 
Dec.  28,  1870  71 
Oct.  28,  1873  80 
Apr.  4,  1875 '80 
Sept.  29,  1875,84 
.  79 


57 


5(>6 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Date  of     !« 
Death.       5 


Caldwell,  .TaneM., 
CmIvjii.  Miss  ;M:iry, 
Cameron,  Martha, 
Camei-on,  Daniel, 
Cameron,  <'ol.  Jas., 
Cameron,  jr.,  Wni., 
Cam pliell,"  .John, 
Cami)l)ell,  Maria, 
Cami)l)ell,  Rebecca, 
Cami>l)ell,  Wm., 
Campbell,  F.  C, 
Candor,  Harriet, 
Candor,  iNIrs.  Eliz., 
Candor,  J.  Howard, 
Candor,  .losiah, 
Candor,  .Tosejali, 
Candor,  .John  M., 
Candor,  Miss  Lydia, 
Candor,  Franklin, 
Candor,  Flizabeth, 
Carson,  .Jolm  B., 
Carotliers,  William, 
Carothers,  Annie  M. 
Caul,  .John, 
Cawley,  .Tames, 
Caw  ley,  ^Fiss  Eliz., 
Cawley,  Charles, 
Chamiierlin,  Ann, 
ChaniV)erlin,  Uriah, 
Chaml)erlin,  Col.  A. 
Chaiii1)erlin,  .Tohn, 
Chaiitl.erlin,MrsM. 
Chaniberlin,0.  A., 
Chamberlin,  Marv, 
Chaml)erlin,  M.  E., 
Chambers,  Robert, 
Chambers,  Kelra  E. 
Cliamber.s,  lienj. 
CJiambers,  Mrs.  M., 
Chambers,  Robert, 
Chandlers,  Henj. 
Chambe'-s,  Mrs.  ^^., 
Cha|)2>ell,  TiUcinda, 
Chappell,  Mrs.  M., 
Chapjiell,  .lason  1j., 
Chap]>ell,  Mearit, 
Charh's,  Samuel, 
Charlton,  Dr.  .las., 
Cherry,  Charles, 
Chesnev,  .lacob  G., 
Chestnut,  .J., 
Chest  inu.  Rev.  D., 
Chestnut,  Ann, 
Clirist,  .Jacob, 
Christ,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Cii  ist,  :Mrs.  Hester, 
Christ,  Jjevi  I'.., 
ChrLstie,  Mrs.  Mar., 


Dec.  11, 
Apr.  — , 
Nov.  10, 
.Tune  30, 
.Tnlv  21, 
Nov.  29, 
Oct.  27, 
.Tan.  — , 
.Tan.  25, 
Sept.  — , 
Apr.  21, 
Mav  — , 
Dec.  14, 
Sept.  23, 
.Tune  26, 
Apr.  18, 
Nov.  13, 
IMar.  — , 
Mar.  12, 
Apr.  12, 
Mar.  25, 
.Jan.  7, 
.Tan.  10, 
Jan.  9, 
.Sept.  25, 
.Tulv  11, 
INIav  16, 
Apr. 
l<^eb. 
.Tan. 
A  pr. 
Mar. 
Apr.  13, 
Apr.  3, 
July  25, 


1, 

12, 
15, 


1868  40 

1803 

1830' 

1832 

1861 ! 

186124 

1838! 

1861 

186183 

1861 

1867  80 

18361 

1836 

18.391 

1840|70 

18491.57 

1849,23 

1862  61 

1862 '67 

1862  38 

1849 

1861 

181)1 

1861 

1840 

18(52  38 


1871 
1832 
1853 
1856 

1858 


45 


1859  S9 


2, 
15, 
19, 
26, 


Mar.  11, 
Dec.  19, 
Aug 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Sept.  2, 
Oct.  — , 
Aug.  20, 
Oct.  — , 
Sept.  23, 
Oct.  — , 
Sept.  — , 
Mar.  9, 
Feb.  — , 

June  10,' 
Julv  27, 
Feb.  23, 
iAu-.  16, 
Oct.  4, 
'Oct.  27, 


18()0 
1865 
1866 
1835 
183() 
1847 
1863 
1864 
1872 
1875 
1849 
1849 
1855 
1872 
1873 
1831 
1823 
1858 
1825 
1837 
1S51 
183-^ 
1861 
]8()3 
1S76 


18;J0i64 


Clark,  Sarah, 
Clark,  Sarah, 
Clark,  Flavel, 
Clark,  .Tames, 
Clennnens,  Mich'l, 
Cliiiyan,  Wm.  Esq., 
Clini>an,  Mrs., 
C'liniian,  Thomas, 
Clini>an,  jr.,  Flavel, 
Cliui'-an,  George, 
Clingan,  Mrs.  M., 
Clingan,  Flavel  R., 
Coburn,  Dr.  Chas., 
Cole,  George, 
Collins,  Mrs.  Mary, 

Colsher, , 

Coml_^-,  Thomas, 
Conner,  David, 
Conner,  Elizabeth, 
Conner,  .Tohn, 
Conrad,  George, 
Cook,  Adam, 
Cook,  Elizabeth, 
Cook,  James, 
Cook,  Andrew, 
Cooper,  .Tudge  .Tno. 
Cornelius,  William, 
Cornelius,  .Tesse, 
Cornelius,  Mrs.  .T., 
Cornelius,  .Tames, 
Cornelius,  ]Mrs., 
Cornelius,  .Tohn, 
Cornelius,  ]\[rs.  F., 
Cornelius,  Mrs.  S., 
Cornelius,  James, 
Cornelius,  Thomas, 
Corry, (Jeorge, 
Costenbader,  Hen., 
Courtney,  William, 
Coverlyj  Maj.  J.  C, 
Covert,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Cowden,  Esq.,  J  no., 
Cox,  Mrs.  Sarah  F., 
Craig,  Mrs.  Anna, 
Crawtbrd,  Dr.J.W., 
Cress,  Conrad, 
Ciiswell,  'I'hoMias, 
Criswell,  Mrs.  E., 
Criswell,  Mrs.  Sar., 
Cronmiller,  Martin, 
Crosgrove,  Samuel, 
Crosgrove,  .Tajues, 
Crotzer,  Tliomas, 
Cunmiings,  .Tohn, 
Cummings,  sr.,  .T., 
Cumniings,  .Tames, 
Cuinniinirs.  Alex., 
Dale,  Mrs.  Eliza, 


Date  of 
Death. 


Mar 
Aug 
Mav 
Ap'r 
Feb 
Sept 


Aug.  13,  1854 
Mav  10,  1857 
Mai-.  6,  1858 
Oct.  22,  1864 
Apr.  7,  1859 
Mav  24,  1822 
:Mav  7,  1838 
Apr.  24,  185S 
Apr.  21,  1859 
Jan.  14,  1S6U 
Dec.  31,  1861 
Oct.  17,  1876 
Apr.  23,  1858 
2,  1868 
2,  1874 
26,  1857 
13,  186(5 
8,  1840 
2(5,  1840 
Sept.  3,  184(5 
Julv  5,  1849 
Aug.  21,  1832 
Tan.  4,  1849 
Feb.  21,  1873 
Sept.  16,  1873 
June  21,  18()3 
AI)out  1814. 
Mav  31,  1833 
26,  1843 
19,  1849 
1,  1854 
8,  18(5() 
Sei)t.  2.3,  18(i7 
Aug.  10,  18(58 
Jan.  24.  1874 
Mar.  10,  1874 
Aug.  15,  185(5 
Aug.  27,  1S53 
Sept.  5,  1854 
Mav  18,  185(5 
29,  1S58 
13,  1.S37 
13,  1868 
26,  1848 
17,  1861 
24,  1844 
26,  ISISO 
June  4,  18(51 
Feb.  10,  18()2 
Jan.  26,  1838 
Sept.  24,  1S61 
Feb.  27,  187(5 
Se])t.  14,  1852 
Aug.  27,  1829 
Yah.  16,  1846 
Jan.  19,  1859 
Mar.  30,  1S(;2 
Apr.  23,  1835 


Aug, 
Nov. 
Oct. 
Apr. 


Mar. 

Jan. 

Oct. 

Jan. 

Apr. 

0(;t. 

A])! 


45 


80 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


5<>7 


Dale,  Samuel, 
Dale,  William, 
Dale,  IMary  Ellen, 
Dale,  Col/James, 
Dale,  Miss  Agnes, 
Danowsky,  Wm.  F., 
Davidson,  Ann, 
{  Davis,  James  K., 
Davis,  \Mlliam, 
Davis,  IVIrs.  Sarah, 
Davis,  Miss  Ann, 
Dawson,  Rev.  A., 
Dawson,  Mrs.  R., 
Deck,  Godfre;\-, 
Dennius,  Mrs.  H., 
Deibert,  Henry, 
Dentler,  Peter, 
Dennis,  ,John,\V.  R. 
Dennis,  Mrs.  Mich., 
Dentler,  John, 
Dentler,  Hon.  J.  F., 
Dentler,  Mrs., 
Deratt,  Daniel, 
Deratt,  Nancy, 
Derr,  (xeorge, 
Derr,  Frances, 
Derr,  Mrs.  Fanny, 
Derr,  Elizabeth, 
Derr,  .Tolm  H., 
Derr,  Lewis, 
Derr,  Benjamin, 
Derr,  Josejih  Y., 
Derr,  John, 
Derr,  ]\Irs.  Cliar., 
Derr,  .Jacob, 
Derring,  Miss  Eliz., 
Dersliain,  Abra.  V., 
Dersham,  Mrs.  H., 
Dieff'enderfer,  F., 
Difltenderfer,  Philip 
Dietfenderfer,  .J., 
Diefltenbach,  Mrs., 
Dilcomb,  Greorge, 
Dillen,  Mrs.  R^, 
Donaldson,  Mr., 
Donaldson,  Mrs.  A., 
Donarchy,  John, 
Donarchy,  Benj., 
Donarchy,  Mrs.F.  S. 
Donnel,  Esq.,  H., 
Dorman,  Peter, 
Dorman,  Mrs.  C, 
Doroiigh,  Sarah, 
Dorongli,  .Tames, 
Dougal,  Dr.  John, 
Doudle,  Daniel, 
Dongal,  Mrs.  S.  A., 
Dreisbach,  JNIartin, 


Aug.  9,  1848 
Sept.  12,  18571 
Mav  7,  1861  39 
Sept.  11,  186:2  81 
June  23,  18(55 
Mar.  1,  1875 
:,Jnly  _,  1827 
Mar.  10,  1847 
Aug.  11,  1860 
Sept.  — ,  1860 
Apr.  5,  18(51  82 
Nov.  4,  18551(58 
Jan.  27,  1863  77 
Jmie30,  1870  65 
Jan.  27,  1848  66 
Sept.  9,  1872  70 
Apr.  21,  1843: 
Mar.  22,  1876 182 
Mav  18,  1876 1()5 
Aug.  18,  1853  7(5 
Jan.  5,  1860  54 
Mar.  6,  1866 
Mar.  20,  1848 
Nov.  22,  1850 
Feb.  5,  1829 
Oct.  9,  1832 
Feb.  15,  1842 
Nov.  17,  1848 
Aug.  14,  1861 
Jnne  17,  1862 
Nov.  11,  18(52 
Julv  21,  1864 
Feb.  1,  1869J72 
Feb.  8,  1873177 
Aug.  2,  1873170 
Aug.  16,  1859158 


72 


67 


Nov.  3,  1873 
Nov.  8,  1875 
Auo;.  17,  1825 
Sepl.  12,  1876 
Mav  19,  1875 
Fall  of  1819. 
Dec.  13,  1842 
Julv  15,  1867 

"-   — ,  1823 

Aug.  4,  1826 
Nov.  23,  1841 
Jan.  30,  1845 
Apr.  20,  1872 
Jan.  17,  1826 
Feb.  13,  1874 
Dec.  11,  1875 
Jan.  11,  1832 
— ,  1860 
28,  1830 
Aug.  — ,  1828 
Apr.  17,  1862 
20,  1831 


Feb 

Oct. 


Oct. 


67 


80 


Dreisbach,  Ellis, 
Dreisbach,  Charles, 
Dreisbach,  John, 
Dreisbacli,  Rev.  J., 
Dreisl)ach,  Tliomas, 
Dreisbach,  Mrs.  E., 
Duncan,  .Tames, 
Dubois,  .Tames  S., 
Duncan  jNIartha, 
Duncan,  David, 
Duncan,  Mrs.  D., 
Dvmcan,  Thos.  F., 
Dundore,  George, 
Dunkle,  Mrs., 
Dunkle,  Conrad, 
Dunkle,  John, 
Dunkle,  sr.,  .Tohn, 
Dunlap,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Dunlap,  John, 
Dunn,  Josiah, 
Dunn,  James, 
Dunn,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Dunn,  Mrs., 
Dunseif,  Hironem's, 
Eartley,  Mrs.  Maria, 
Eaton,  Cyrus, 
Eckert,  George, 
Eckert,  George  B., 
Eckert,  Mrs.  N.  B., 
Egbert,  jr.,  .Tohn, 
Eilert,  Mrs.  Ann, 
Eilert,  Christopher, 
Elder,  :Mrs.  Eliza, 
Elliott,  John  W., 
Elliot,  Henrietta G., 
Ellis,  Esq.,  H.  D., 
Ellis,  William, 
Elv,  Issac, 
Ely,  Ricliard  Har., 
Engle,  Solomon, 
Engle,  Sanmel, 
Engiehart,  Mrs.  H., 
Ettman,  John, 
Evans,  Joseph, 
Evans,  Elizabeth, 
E\ans,  VS  illiam, 
Evans,  Dr.  Chas.  R., 
Ewing,  .Tosliua, 
Ewing,  Agnes, 
Ewing,  Mrs., 
Ewing,  .Tames, 
Ewing  Rev.  .Tames, 
Ewing,  Elizabeth, 
Eyer,  Abraham, 
Ever,  Jacol), 
Eyer,  Jacob, 
Eyer,  jr.,  Isaac, 
Eyerl^^,  Prof.  Jacob, 


Date  of 
Death. 


Oct. 
Apr. 

iFeb. 

I  Aug. 

jNIav 

Oct. 

I  Oct. 

June 

Feb. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Julv 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Jan. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

June 

Feb. 

July 

Nov. 

Mar. 

Jan. 

Julv 

Mar. 

Aug. 

Apr. 

Aug. 

June 

Jan. 

]Mav 

July 

Sept. 

Apr. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Apr. 

Mar. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Jvxlv 

Sept. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Aug. 

OctT 

Julv 
Sept. 
July 
Aug. 


80 


82 


69 


1860  61 

1861  21 
18(59178 
187182 

1872  77 
1875  73 

1843  85 
1852  56 
1847 
1855 
1865 
1867 
1866 
1842 
1845 
1846 
1864 
1837 
1842 
1823 
1849195 
1861 
186264 
1830 
1842,45 

1873  79 
1850 
1868 
1876 
185578 
1874:72 
1824,64 
1870  60 
1857:40 
1872  60 
1851  45 
1868  69 
1843 
1849 
1852 
1872 
1874 
1827 
1834 
1836 
1841 
1867  28 

1844  80 
1851  25 
1855 
1856,45 
186174 
1869.53 
1823^75 
1827; 
1854  28 
18(>8j45 
186475 


i55 
170 


568 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Date  of 
Death. 


Farlev,  Abraham,  July  29,  1875  84 
Faries,Esq. .Robert,  Nov.  12,  IBM  60 
Fetter,  Mrs.  Abram,  Oct.  21 ,  186878 
Fetter,  Abraiu.  May     4,  1876  84 

Fenner,  ^hwx  R.,  Au^.  13,  1865  74 
Fess,  David,  .lulv  29,  1876)76 

Fessler,  IMrs.  Marv,  Sept.  21,  1854  64 
Fessler,  .Tacob,  [Sept.  25,  1854J36 

Fiedler.  Fred.  G.,  June  9,  1861126 
Fields.  Emily,  lApr.  12,  1830 

Filhuan,  Jacob,  [Sept.  22,  1827 
Finnev,  .James,  jSept.  7,  1826 
Finne'v,  Mrs.  Eliz.,    Sept.   7,  1826 

Fisher,  Rebecca,       ' — ,  1823 

Fisher,  Lieut.  Thos.  Feb.     9,  1854i68 
Fisher,  Esq.,  A.  C,  jMay  16,  1855|35 
Fisher,  Rev.  A.,         Jan.   27,  1857! 53 
Fleming,  James,       jjiilv  30;  1824 
Follmef,  Daniel,       jMar.  29,  1875 
Flemino-,  Gen.  Rob.  Mav  31,  1874' 
Follmer,  Thomas,      Mar.  13,  1846| 
Follmer,  Mrs.  M.,     ISept.    6,1853:64 
Forrv,  Nathan,  shflf.  Jan.     4,  1860  43 
Forsifor,  Robert,        Ljan.   29,  1834176 
Forstor,  Ji)seph,        iMar.  11,  1S4-, 
Forster,  Jolm,  iAug.    9,  1849  75 

Forster,  William,  |Mar.  26,  1853176 
Forster,  .John,  , Julv    2,  1864  78 

Forster,  :\Iarv  Lou.,  iMaf.  19,  1865 
Forster,  Joliii  V.,  ;]Mar.  19,  1865 
Forster,  William,  Mar.  27,  1865  71 
Forster,  Mrs.  Jane,  Isept.  29,  1868  71 
Forster,  T.  JL  B.,  Jan.  16,  1861  26 
Fowler,  Mrs.  A.,  jSept.  24,  ]8()()  50 
Fox,  Peter,  |jan.    10,  1856  83 

Frain  de,  Tfenrv,  Jan.  4,  18154  70 
Frank,  Jolm  Philip,lSept.  25,  1856i71 
Frederick,  Philii),  iFeb.  19,  1852164 
Frederick,  Matilda, 'Sept.  6,  1866  47 
Frick,  :Mrs.  Kliz.,  Sept.  2,  1859  65 
Frick,  Dr.  Clar.  JL,  Jan.  21,  1861*26 
J'rick,  Esq.,  G.  A.,  June  10,  1872  85 
Fries,  Tiev.  Just  JL,  Oct.  9,  1839  63 
Fries,  .Jolm,  May     1,  1869  54 

Frock,  Tfenrv,  jNov.  25,  18()1  72 

Fryer,  Ja(M)l),  'Feb.  13,  18()4;81 

Fulmer,  Andrew,  Apr.  5,  1862  65 
Gable,  John,  Sept.  11,  187367 

Gearhart,  John  I^.,    Nov.    6,  186043 
Gebliart,  .Jonatlian,  Nov.    3,  1838^ 
Gebliart,  Gc-orge,       Dec.  13,  187672 
Geddes,  Jolm  R.,       Jan.     7,  18371 
Gcd(h's,  Miss  Maria,  Oct.      1,  1854| 
fJemberliiig.Mrs.  E.Oct.    13,  18(!1  63 
Gemberliii^-,  Philip,  Apr.  26,  1870  75 
(;corgc,  I{cv.  Jolm,  Dec.   13,  1867  60 
George,  Sanih  Aim,  P'eb.  18,  ISiU  39 
German,  Jacob,         Jan.     6,1848  60 


Date  of 
Death. 


Julv 
Sept. 
July 
Aug, 
Julv 


Gessner,  Francis  J.,  Sept. 
Gessner,  Mrs.  F.  J.,  Sept. 
Getz,  Mrs.  liarbara,  .Jan. 
Geyer,  Adam,  Dec. 

Gibbons,  Hugh,  Apr. 
Gibson,  Henrv,  Aug. 

Gimilan,  Dr.  Ed.,  Apr. 
Ginter,  Mrs.  Ann,  Sept. 
Ginter,  Charles,  Dec. 
Glass,  .Joseph,  Julj" 

Glass,  Mrs.  Marj^  A.,  Apr. 
Glover,  John,  Mar. 

Glover,  Esq.,  Wm.,  Nov. 
Glover,  Esq.,  John,!]Mav, 
Goddard,  Abner  S.,  Sept. 
Goodlander,  J.  V.,  IAu 
Gordon,  Mrs.  Har., 
Gordon,  Mary, 
Gottshall,  David, 
Graham,  Alex. 
Graham,  T.  W., 
Graham,  Mrs.  M.  M.,  Mar. 
Graham,  Thomas,  Aug. 
Gi-aham,  Rosetta,  'Aug. 
Graham,  H.  Spyker,  Aug. 
Grant,  Deborah,  jFeb. 
Gray,  John, 
GraV,  Robert, 
Gregg,  Mrs.  C.  H., 
Gregg,  Andrew, 
Green,  Dr.  Geo.  W., 
Green,  Robert  B., 
Green,  Abbot, 
Green,  Mrs.  Marg., 
Gi-een,  ^lai-garet, 
Green,  Thomas, 
Green,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Green,  Mrs.  J.  11. , 
Greenough,  Esq.,E. 
Grier,  Tliomas, 
Grier,  Joseph  F., 
Grier,  Thomas  G., 
Grier,  Maria  .Jane, 
Grier,  ]\Irs.  Marg., 
Grotf,  Abraham., 
Grove,  Mrs,  Cath., 
Gross,  Henry, 
r;rf)ve,  Mrs.  Nancj', 
Grove,  Michael, 
Grove,  David, 
(xrove,  l*]liza. 
Grove  Sanme], 
Gudykunst,  Ohas.. 
Gundrum,  George, 
Gundy,  lOliza, 
(>und.\',  ("hristain, 
(Jund_\-,  (ieorge, 
(Jundy,  William  S., 


Mar. 

Oct. 

.Jan. 

May 

Jan. 

Dec. 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Mav 

Dec. 

June 

Apr. 

Dec. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Oct. 

Dec. 

.June 

Oct. 

Feb. 

Aug. 

June 

Sept. 

May 

Nov. 

Sept. 

Jan. 

Apr. 

Mav 

Sept. 

Nov. 

INIar. 


9,  1855 
9,  1855 
13,  1864 

13,  1832 

7,  187li78 
22,  1871  63 
12,  1833  64 

24,  1863,60 
17,  18361 

25,  1870  i77 
30,  1870  ;61 
— ,  1825 

8,  1854170 
17,  1862  80 

11,  1852  44 

22,  1863,50 
17,  1846,52 
20,  18551 

14,  1849  45 

23,  1839' 
22,  1859  53 

15,  18()3  77 
20,  1864  42 

4,  1872! 

28,  1868.59 

22,  1847' 

23,  1S1<I  SI 
17,  1S54  70 
14,  18()5,28 
14,  1869  78 

12,  1848 

29,  1849  28 


23,  1851 

6,  1856 

7,  1858 
3,  1865 
6,  1867 

30,  1870 
25,  1847 

2,  1829i3 
10,  1858 

6,  186412 

7,  1865'33' 
1,  ISTO  62 

8,  1S7:',  63 

29,  isis7!t 
15,  is-i-jso 

12,  is.-,:;  32 
— ,  ISiiT 

30,  ISiiC  54 

3,  lS(i9  7s 
1,  IS?:!  75 

13,  ]S(;5(i(5 

29,  1853  45 
15,  1S29 

30,  1836 
6,  1843 

13,  1846 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


5(>9 


Date  of 
Death. 


Gvmdy,  John, 
Gutelius,  Fred., 
Giitelius,  Esq.,  I., 
Gutelius,  Rev.  S., 
Gutelius,  Andrew, 
Guyer,  Adam, 
Guyer,  Peter, 
Guyer,  Rev.  John, 
Guyer,  Israel, 
Guyer  .John, 
Haak,  John, 
Hackenberg,  Peter, 
Hafer,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Hafer,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Hafer,  .Jacob, 
Hagenbuch,  Peter, 
Halfpenny,  Mrs.  C, 
Hall,  Esq.,  Charles, 
Hall,  Ebenezer. 
Hall,  Rev.  Wm.  M., 
Hall,  John,  lOct. 

Hanunond,  .Joseph, 

Hammond,  Marg.,  Oct. 
Hammond,  Oscar,  JMar 
Hann,  .Jacob,  jMar 

Hann,  Jared,  Au2 

Hannah,  Jolm, 
Harbangh,  Mrs.  L., 
Harkens,  John, 
Harbaugh,  Rev.  H., 
Harimer,  jNIrs.  M., 
Harmon,  Susan, 
Harmony,  Benj., 
Harris,  Sally, 
Harris,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Harris,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Harris,  Caroline  D., 
Harris  James, 
Harris,  Miss  M., 
Harrison,  .James, 
Harrison,  Hon.  Jas.',  Apr. 
HartmaUj  George,  July 
Hassenplug,  J.  H.     Nov. 

Hassenplug,   ,     Apr. 

Hassenplug,  Wm.,  Feb. 
Hauck,  George,  INIar. 

Haupt,  jr.,  Sam'l,  .Jan. 
Haupt,  Esq.,  Sam'l,  Feb. 
Haus,  .John,  July 

Haus,  Susannah,  July 
Haus,  Jacob,  Oct. 

Hawn,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Sept. 
Hawn,  Daniel,  Dec. 

Hawn,  Nancy  Jane,  Jan. 
Hayes,  Mis.  ^fary,  |Dec. 
Hayes,  I\[rs.  Emily,  Apr. 
Hayes,  Sarah,  !Aug. 

Hayes,  John,  I  Mar. 


54 


67 


84 


Date  of 
Death. 


Hayes,  R.  G.  H., 
Hayes,  Esq.,  David, 
He'ckel,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Heckel,  Mrs.  Han'h, 
Heckendorn,  D., 
Heinbach,  George, 
Heinly,  .John, 
Heiser,  Catlierlne, 
Heiser,  Frederick, 
Heitzman,  .Jacob, 
Hendrick,  Andrew, 
Henderson,  Sam'l, 
Henning,  .John, 
Hepburn,  Esq.,  S., 
HerV)st,  Ilenry, 
Herbst,  Henrv, 
Herbst,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Herbst,  Mrs.  M.  M., 
Herbst,  .Josiah, 
Herbst,  Esq.,  D., 
Herr,  I)avid, 
Hertz,  .John, 
Hess,  Henry, 
Hess,  jr.,  Henrv, 
Hess,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Hess,  Mrs.  E.  C, 
Heverling,  Jolm, 
Hicks,  Christian, 
Hicks,  Mrs.  C, 
Hickok,  John  H., 
Hickok,  Mrs.  M.  L., 
Higgins,  Chas.  W., 
High,  Jolm, 
High,  Elizabeth  M., 
Hiiands,  Robert, 
Hilbourn,  .James, 
Himmelreich,  P., 
Himmelreich,  Dan., 
Himmelreich,  j  r . ,  P. 
Himmelreich,  D., 
Hixson,  iSIrs.  Jane, 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  Ij., 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  C, 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  C, 
Hogcndoliler,  Jos., 
Hoix],  J:nie, 
Hood,  .Julia, 
Hood,  Wilson  H., 
Hood,  Catherine, 
Hoover,  George, 
Horning,  Mrs.  Ann, 
Horlacher,  Daniel, 
Houuhton,  Mrs.  S., 
Houghton,  M.  A., 
Houghton,  .John, 
Jloughton,  .Jas.  M., 
Housel,  William, 
Housel,  Mrs.  Wm., 


May  2, 
.June  15, 

Sept.  15, 
Dec.  18, 
Apr.  2(1, 
Oct.  28, 
Feb.  27. 
Dec.  IS, 
Mar.  27, 
Sept.  7, 
Feb.  15, 
Sept.  29, 
.June  18, 
Oct.  16, 
Aug.  15, 
Apr.  22, 
Sept.  24, 
Ang.  3, 
Nov.  27, 
Feb.  16, 
Feb.  — , 
June  16, 
\pr.  7, 
Mar.  9, 
May,  8, 
Apr.  25, 
Feb.  15, 
Dec.  22, 
Jan.  27, 
Jan.  14, 
Sept.  4, 
.Jan.  2, 
Sept.  20, 
Jan.  29, 

Mar.  15, 

Nov.  2, 
Jan.  — , 
Sept.  2, 
June  12, 
Feb.  21, 
Nov.  17, 
Apr.  20, 
Julv  28, 
JulV  6, 
Feb.  26, 
Mar.  11, 
May  26, 
June  9, 
July  21, 
Mai-.  10, 
Julv  24, 
I  Jan.  21, 
;Sept.  1, 
Oct.  25, 
Apr.  26, 
Aug.  9, 
July  7, 


18.54  59 
1858  49 

1864 

1871  87 

186441 

186059 

1845  75 

1844172 

1845,73 

1861 

1868  80 

1875  84 

1853 

1865 

1829 

1848 

1863  ' 

1866 

1S70 

1875  60 
1872:63 
1S72|46 
IS  58 1 62 
186023 
1864167 

1876  49 


>84 
7 
182 
!41 
194 
•  51 


1869 

1S53 

1863 

1841 

1868 

1862 

1855 

1860 

1S24 

1851 

1828 

1830 

1866 

1S73 

187(5 

1872 

1875 

1876 

1864 

1826 

1839 

1849 

186)7  61 

18t)9  66 

1842} 

1873  72 

1847 

1S53  24 

1863:57 

1873,40 

1829,91 

18351 


570 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Date  of     w 
Death.      ? 


nousel,  William  L., 
Housel,  Jacob, 
House!,  Capt.  Wni., 
Housel,  Joslnia, 
Housel,  Jacob, 
Housel,  Mrs.  ISIaiy, 
Housel,  Wni.  Esq., 
Housel,  iSIrs.  Mary, 
Howard,  ElizaT)eth, 
Howard,  Thomas, 
Howard,  Mrs.  E., 
Howard  Thomas, 
Howard,  David, 
Howard,  Laird, 
Hoy,  .Joliu, 
Hubler,  .Tohu, 
Hul)ler,  ]\Irs.  .John, 
PTuliler,  Henrv, 
Huff;  Mrs.  :srarg., 
Huuies,  Samuel, 
Hummel,  Mrs.  Chr. 
Hummel,  .John, 
Humuiel,  Capt.  .J., 
Hummel,  Daniel, 
Hunsicker,  Catli., 
Hunter,  Monta. 
Hunter,  P.arbara  H. 
Huntiufidon,  John, 
Ilursh,  Henrv, 
Hursli,  Mrs.  ^ 
Hursh,  r4corfie, 
Hursh,  Samuel, 
Huston,  Hon.  Chas., 
Hutcheson,  Mrs.  P., 
Hutcheson,  .lohn, 
Hutcheson,  .Tames, 
Hutcliinson,  M.  A., 
Iddinujs,  Henry, 
Iddinijs,  Samuel, 
Iddinys,  Isaac, 
Iddintjs,  Elizabeth, 
Iddin<is,  Mii^ail, 
Iddings,  Mrs.  Isalj., 
Iddiufis,  Tliomius, 
Iddinf>i<,  Tjcwis, 
Iddiu-s,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Id<]iui;s.  Sarah  l'>m. 
lnjj:ram,  John  S., 
Ireland,  Jolm  W., 
Irvine,  Mrs.  Nancy, 
Irvine,  Susan, 
Irvhi,  Sarah  I  [arris, 
Irwm,  -Mrs.  Nancy, 
.James,  Mrs.  Marg't, 
•Jenks,  Mrs.  A., 
.Todon,  ("aspcr, 
.Todon,  .ros('|)|i, 

JoJinsnii.   J.icdl) 


Aug.  3, 
July  26, 
•June  7, 
Sept.  17, 
Aus.  4, 
JulV  30, 
Apr.  21, 
Dec.  14, 
Mar.  30, 
.Jan.  lo, 
Mav  21, 
JulV  17, 
Nov.  15, 
ISIar.  19, 
Aug.  27, 
:Mar.  14, 
INIar.  27, 
Julv  3, 
Sept.  22, 
:Mar.  28, 
Aug.  — , 
Julv  II, 
Dec.  17, 
|Sept.  7, 
.Julv  .5, 
lAug.  18, 
Apr.  7, 
Feb.  8, 
iAug.  15, 
Jan.  27, 
ISIav  2, 
Dec.  14, 
Nov.  10, 
.June  10, 
Jan.  22, 
Oct.  13, 
Oct.      8, 


Mav  K), 
Mar.  8, 
Aug.  24, 
Nov.  7, 
Mar.  8, 
Jaji.  4, 
AiH-.  22, 
Oct.  14, 
Jan.  25, 
Julv  0, 
Mai-.  1, 
Jan.   23, 

[Aug,  r,; 

Julv  31, 
Fel).  5, 
June    :'., 


1849 
1850119 
1850 ; 
185280 
1859  fiO 
18(50  66 

1867  77 

1868  82 
18iZ9i 
1842 
18421 
1859  22 
1859 
1870  65 
1853  86 
1845  82 
1845  80 

1874  73 
1832 

1859  57 

1847  61 
1S53  72 
1X60  80 
1861  76 

1872  80 

1860  46 
1S(U  69 

1873  ()5 
1829i 
1848 
1873  77 

1875  70 
1849 
1825! 
1828! 

1860  43 
18()8 
18201 
1820  i 
1823' 
181:3' 
18-J8 

18;i8 

1848  73 
1857  37 

1861  40 
18()2  19 
1848 

1862  19 
1830 
1834 
1857  96 
1830, 
1823! 
1859 
1826 1 

1863  74 
1835! 


Date  of      W 
Death,     j^ 


Johnson,  Abel, 
.Johnson,  Mrs.  S.  J., 
Jones,  Thomas, 
Jones,  INIrs.  Eliz., 
Jones,  Marv  A., 
Jordan,  Mrs.  M.  H., 
Joj'ce,  Isaijel, 
.Joyce,  Dr.  William, 
Kaufman,  Teeter, 
Kaufman,  .Jolin, 
Jvaufman,  David, 
Kaufman,  Mrs.  T^., 
Kaiifman,  ^Irs.  D., 
Kaufman,  Daniel, 
Ivaufman,  J  as.  B., 
Kaufman,  Isaac, 
Kaufman,  Mrs.H.  B. 
Kay,  James, 
Keeler,  .Jacob, 
ICeeler,  Mrs.  Barb., 
Iveiser,  John, 
Iveiser,  .Jacob, 
Ivellv,  William, 
Kelly,  Mrs.  S., 
Kellv,  James  W., 
Kelly,  Esq.,  Col.  J., 
Kelly,  .James  S., 
Kellv,  .JosepJi, 
Kellv,  Robert  H., 
Kelly,  Peter  :M., 
Kelly,  .James ]M., 
Kellv,  Rev.  .Joshua, 
Kelly,  Ellen, 
Kelly,  Robert, 
Kellv,  Andrew, 
Ivellv,  ?*Irs.  IT., 
Kelly,  David  H., 
Kennedy,  ISlrs.  N., 
Kennedy,  Andrew, 
Kerr,  Hamlet  A.., 
Ivessler,  Catlierine, 
Kessler,  Es(j.,  W., 
Ketcluun,  Mrs.  M., 
Ketner,  Catherine, 
Kiehl,  George  W., 
Kien'cr,  Miss  Sallie, 
Ki(^lf('r,  Henry, 
Kiml)ell,  .Jolm, 
Kimi)le,  Adam, 
Kimple,  .Jolm, 
Kimp]e,iMiss  Sarah, 
Kinur,  sr.,. James, 
King,  ^Nlrs.  Marg. 
Kingan,  Sarah, 
Kinkead,  Josepli, 
Kinkead,  I'^aig.  W., 
Kirk]iatrick.i{ev.I). 
Kleckner,  Solomon, 


Nov.  19, 
Apr.  14, 
Oct.  15, 
June  15, 
Mav  11, 
Feb.  3, 
Julv  27, 
Apr.  18, 
Dec.  10, 
Nov.  30, 
Sept.  27, 
Dec.  24, 
May,  1, 
Jan.  7, 
Julv  6, 
Julv  18, 
May  31, 
Apr.  22, 
Mar.  8, 
Dec.  13, 
Nov.  23, 
Feb,  12, 
Jan.  27, 
Jan.  2, 
Dec.  26, 
Feb.  18, 
Mav  14, 
Mar.  2, 
Nov.  26, 
Aug.  19, 
Mar.  27, 
Apr.  10, 
June  16, 
Ai)r.  12, 
Sej)t.  24, 
Veh.  20, 
Feb.  11, 
Feb.  24, 
Aug.  24, 
Sept.  3, 
Sept.  1, 
Feb.  :^1, 
Julv  13, 
Julv  13, 
July  3, 
.June  11, 
Aug.  4, 
Mav  19, 
Dec.  17, 
Mar.  12, 
Jan.  11, 
Dec.  15, 
A  pr.  5, 
Julv  2, 
Dec.   17, 

Jan.  5', 
Aug.  18, 


1849 
1862  29 
1833 
1847  84 
1863' 

1857  62 
1850 
1851' 
1845  83 
1849  86 
1863! 

1859  73 

1861  25 
1S()6  65 

1866  30 
187160 

1872  69 

1856  76 
1870  90 

1869  84 
1850' 

1867  60 
18301 
1831 
1831 
1832!88 
1854  39 

1860  67 
1860 

1861  27 

1862  23 

1862  40 
1862  34 
18()5  77 
18671 84 

1868  77 

1875  72 
1865  57 
187075 
1849 1 
18271 
lS(n'80 

1870  81 
1826i54 

1858  53 

1873  55 

1874  66 

1876  74 
1831 1 
1856176 
1876  73 
1S70  94 
1874  80 

1857  90 
1845' 
1846! 
18(!9l74 
1837  72 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


57^ 


Kleckner,  John, 
Kleckner,  William, 
Kleckner,  (Jeorge, 
Kleckner,  Isaac, 
Kline,  Jacob, 
Kleckner,  Eliz., 
Kleckner,  Miss  M., 
Kline,  Charles, 
Kline,  John  H., 
Kling,  Jeremiah, 
Kling,  John, 
Kling,  John, 
Klingaman,  Peter, 
Knarr  Anna  Mary, 
Knittle,  Mrs., 
Knight,  Mrs.  Rach., 
Kohler,  Anna, 
Koser,  Jonathan, 
Koser,  .John, 
Kratzor,  Daniel, 
Kreamer,  Mrs.Abr., 
Kreamer,Al3raham, 
Kremer,  Hon.  Geo., 
Kreamer,  Michael, 
Kreider,  Hon.  .Jac, 
Kreitzer,  Fred., 
Lafej',  INIargaret, 
Lafey,  Isaac, 
Laird,  Matthew, 
Laird,  Rev.  Matt. 
Laird,  Mrs,  Matt. 
Laird,  Jane, 
Laird,  Mrs.  Maria, 
Laird,  Col.  S.  H., 
Laird,  Mrs.  Jane, 
Laird,  Matthew, 
Lantz,  Samuel, 
Lashells,  John, 
Lashells,  Mrs.  Geo., 
Lashells,  George  R., 
Lashells,  Mrs.  Mart. 
Lashells,  Marg.  C, 
Lashells,  George, 
Lashells,  jr.,  .John, 
Lashells,  Ida, 
Lashells,  Elean.  C, 
Love,  William, 
Love,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Lawrence,  George, 
Lawson,  .Joseph, 
Lawshe,  sr.,  John, 
Lawshe,  jr.,  John, 
Lawson,  Mrs.  Nan., 
Lel:)kicker,  INIich., 
Lel)kicker,  Philip, 
Lebkiclier,  John, 
Lee,  Catherine, 
Lehman,  jNIrs.  Han. 


Date  of 
Death. 


Aug.  23, 
.Jan.  5, 
Mav  3, 
MaV  14, 
Nov.  15, 
Julv  19, 
Aug.  9, 
Mar.  22, 
Mar,  28, 
Jan.  20, 
Jan.  22, 
Julv  17, 
Apr.  27, 
Mar.  1, 
Sept.  12, 
Oct.  17, 
June  7, 
Mav  12, 
Ont.  17, 
Apr.  4, 
Dec.  13, 
Mar.  2, 
Sept.  10, 
Aug.  23, 
Mav  13, 
Feb.  4, 
Apr.  22, 
Mar.  1, 
Oct.  — , 
May  4, 
Mai-,  1, 
Mav  29, 
Julv  7, 
Mar.  14, 
Apr.  4, 
Oct.  29, 
July  30, 
Feb.  7. 
Julv  7, 
Apr.  16, 
Oct.    12, 

Mav  29', 
Sept.  14, 
Mar.  15, 
Dec.     2, 


Dec.  30, 
Feb.  24, 
Feb.  8, 
Sept.  14, 
Apr.  19, 
Jan.  28, 
Sept.  19, 
ISIar.  18, 
]Mar.  — , 
Nov.  15, 


1839 

1861 

1874 

1877 

1852 

1876 

1829 

1860 

1868  50 

1861 

1863 

1872 

1848 

1875 


89 


79 


1860 

1875 

1868 

1864 

1873 

1869 

1842 

1847 

1854 

1855  56 

1852  77 

1868  i 

1855  64 

1860  70 

1821 

1834 

1837 

1849 

1862  71 
1870  66 

1863  89 
1867,80 
1850 
1832' 
1834 
18351 
1837 
1845 
1844 
1845 
1849  i 
1850; 
1834 
18421 
1863  i 
18431 
1832  80 
18451 
1867  [84 
1848  89 
1854  72 
1870:74 
1853 
1875 174 


Date  op 
Death. 


Lee,  James,  May 

Leiby,  Christena,  July 
Leiby,  Jacob,  May 

Leiby,  George,  Aug. 

Leiby,  John,  Oct. 

Jjcinbach,  Rev.  T.,  Mar. 
Leisenring,  John,  Jan. 
Leiser,  Jacob,  May 

Leonard,  Peter,  Jan. 
Leplej^,  Jacob,  Jan. 

Lei)ley,  George,  Jan. 
Levan,  Mrs.  Sophia,  Aug. 
Levy,  Esq.,  Daniel,  May 
Lewis,  Mrs.  Mary,  A\ig. 
Lewis,  John,  May 

Lewis,  Thomas  R.,  Aug. 
Lincoln,  .John,  Aug. 

Linn,  William,  Oct. 

Linn,  Mrs.  Ann,  Sept. 
Linn,  Franklin  F.,  Nov. 
Linn,  John,  Sept. 

Linn,  David,  July 

Linn,  Mrs.  Marg'y,   Nov. 
Linn,  Mrs.  Marg't  I.  .June 
Linn,  Esq.,  Jas.  F.,  Oct. 
Locker,  John,  May 

Long,  .Jonathan,  [July 
Long,  .Jacob,  !Oct. 

Long,  Mrs.,  July 

Long,  Ephriam,         .Jan. 
Long,  Mrs.  Mary,      .Jan. 
Long-bay,  Caroline,   .June 
Long-more,  Rev.  D.,  Sept. 
Lotz,  Mrs.  Ann,         Aug. 
Lotz,  Henry,  Apr. 

Lotz,  Dr.  Joseph  R.,  .Jan. 
Ludwig,  Dr.  W.  H.,  Nov. 
Ludwig,  Daniel,        Aug. 
Ludwig,  Sam'l  W.,   Oct. 
Luker,  John,  Jan.     2, 

Lyndall,  Henrv,  Nov.  20, 
Lyndall,  Steph.  F.,  May  12, 
McAlarnev,  John,  Mav  16, 
McReth,  Eliz.  A.,  Dec.  20, 
McBeth,  Andrew,  Julv  3, 
McBeth,  J  ohn  A.  H.  Oct!^  12, 
McCall,  John,  May  28, 

McCall,  jr.,  John,  Nov.  24, 
McCarty,  William,  Apr.  8, 
McClanachan,  And.  Mar.  19, 
McClanachan,  Mrs.,  Jan.  30, 
McClearv,  John,  June  21, 
McClearv,  Dr.W.,     Dec.     4, 

McClellan,  Ruth, , 

McClellan,  Sam'l,  Feb.  7, 
McClellan,  Mrs.  M.,  Mar.  29, 
McClellan,  Marg.,  Jan.  7, 
McClure,  Jona.,        Nov.  10, 


1853 

185277 
1856J80 
1872  65 


67 
62 

175 
;83 


1872 
1864 
1859 ' 
1862  i 
1862 
1848  ( 
1874 
1847 
1844 ' 
1846,78 
18(59  91 
1872  77 
1862  80 
1834 
1841  80 
1846 
1847  91 


;66 
63 


77 


1848  71 
1865  85 

1868  64 

1869  67 
1860i76 
1824124 
1828 
1847 
1856 
1863 
1862 
1855 
1824 
184;: 
187f 
1848 
1855 
1860 
1850 
1860 
1856 
1876 
1850 
1854  77 
1854  33 

1863  60 

1864  30 
1861 75 
1836 
1846 
1851 
1867 
1820 
1854  78 
1858  87 
1863,61 
1825 1 


41 


i48 
.76 
140 

'50 

I 

(46 
143 
165 


65 


57^ 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Date  of 
Death. 


McClure,  Richard,  Mar.  26,  1S33 
:Nr<-C'lnre,  Koan,  Oct.  18,  1833 
Mcriiire,  Mrs.  H.,  Aug.  20,  1838, 
INIcClurc,  James,  Aug.  30,  1840 
McClure,  Jane,  July    6,  1849 

Mcf'lure,  Kichard,    Aug.    7,  1850 
McClure,  Alex.,         Sept.  25,  1853 
:\rcCIure,  NancvX.,  Sept.  24,  1854  73 
McClure,  Mrs.  M.,     Oct.    24,  1855 
McCliu-e,  Hannah,    Oct.    21,1859  61 
McClure,  William,    Nov.  20,  1859  36 
McClure,  Miss  Jane,  Dec.  21,  1876  88 
McClure,  INIiss  Jane,  July  17,  187o55 
McClure,  Robt.  M.,  Jan.     2,  1876  62 

McCool,  Esq.,  Jos.,  ' — ,  18441 

McCorlov,  Esq.,  R.,  Dec.  11,  1869  86 
McCorlev,  Es(i.,  J.,  Apr.  15,  1S72  82 
McCorm'ick,  ^^^  S.,    Dec.     7,  1868  29 
McCoy,  William,       Dec.     1,  1846: 
McCoy,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  jNov.  11,  18()9,76 
McCreight,  James,    June  30,  18621 
:McCreight,  Mary  D.  Sept.  22,  1865,22 
McDowel,  George,     May  26,  1864 '45 
McEwing,  Alex.,      'Nov.  26,  1850,94 
McFadden,  John,      Feb.     9,  18351 
McFadilen,  Mrs.  C,  Oct.    15,  1845' 
.McFadden,  Mrs.  X.,  Mar.     2,  1848  90 
McFa(hlen,  Col.  J.,   Jvme  IS,  I80I1 
:McFadden,  J.  A.,     'July  27,  1855,31 

McOrady,  Alex.,       — ,  1830 

McOrady,  Alex.,       — ,  1812! 

:\rc(Trad'v,  William, — ,  1836 

McGrad'y,  Mrs.  E.,   iJune    3,186196 
McGregor,  Charles,  Mar.    2,  186()'52 
McGuigan,  Col.  R.,  JAug.  26,  ISSO 
McGuire.  Rachel,     JAug.  22,  1834' 

McGuire,  Mrs.,  | — ,  1844] 

McGuire,  Thomas,    jMar.  — ,  1S45| 
ilcGuire,  John,         |Dec.  14,  1852  78 
McKean,  Hon.  S.,    '.Tune  23,  18401 
:\r<d<iidey,  Cath.,      ';Oot.    17,  1862  79 
McKinnev,  Jacob,     Feb.     5,  1S6] 
M(!Kintv,\jolni,         Feb.  24,  1S56  64 
McLaugldin,  Wm.,  Mar.  26,  1831|68 
INIcEaugldin,  Dr.  R,  Jan.   12,  lS32i 
McLauiihlin,  Wm.,  Mar.  —,1834 
McEau-hlin,  Jas.,     Dec.  25,  1845 
McEaughlin,^rarl.•.,  Ai)r.  19,  1848 
McEauglilin,  Jane,   July    9,1862  57 
McT.aut.dilin,Mrs.  E  Ai)r.  16,  1865 -W 
McEaughlin,  Hugh,  Feb.     9,  1871  66 
McMahoii,  Sanmcl,  June  II,  1854  75 
McNeil  Dr.  ('.  J.,       Aug.  — ,  1864 
Mabus,  .Josei)h,         ;Fe]).  18,1876  64 
Macliamer,  Daniel,  'Aug.    3,  1856174 
Muckev,  Mrs.  'W  S.j'May     1,  1828 
Mackey,  sr.,  Thos.,   Aug.    4,  1849  85 
Mackey,  jr.,  Thos.,   P'eb.  14,  1860  08 


Maclay,  David, 
Maclay,  Ann, 
INlaclay,  Mrs.  Ann, 
IMaclay,  Esq.,  John, 
Macpherson,  John, 
Macpherson,  Mrs.  J. 
Madden,  Esq.,  Jas., 
Mader,  George, 
jNIagee,  Levina, 
IMagee,  .James, 
IMagee,  Levina, 
Magee,  Mrs.  And'w, 
IMagee,  James, 
Magee,  Joseph, 
Magee,  Andrew, 
IMagee,  John  T., 
]Magee,  Esq.,  Jas., 
:Magee,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Magee,  Mrs.  Susan, 
Magee,  INIrs.  Susan, 
IMagee,  Eleanor  S., 
IMaize,  John, 
Maize,  Mrs.  Lydia, 
Manning,  Henry, 
Markle,  Gideon, 
INIarr,  David, 
Marr.  Rev.  P.  R., 
Marsh,  Fred.  C, 
Marshall,  James, 
Marshall,  Judge  J., 
Martin,  Hugh, 
Martin,  Esq.,  J.  M., 
Martin,  Esq.,  J., 
Mason,  Maria  D., 
Mason,  Henry, 
Mathers,  Mary, 
Mathers,  IMrs.  Ann, 
IVIathers,  Mis.  El'n, 
Mathers,  Peter, 
Mathers,  Mrs., 
Mathers,  James, 
M.iuck,  Ja(u)l), 
I  Maus,  iOsq.,  Chas., 
I  IMaus,  Emily, 
1  INIaus,  Ijcwis, 
I  Maxwell,  IMis.  S., 
I  Maxwell,  Fscj..  H., 
jI\hixw(!ll,Capt.J.G. 
I  Meixell,  George, 
^Sleixell,  Josej^h, 
Menscli,  l\c\-.  Nic^h., 
Meuscli,  Mrs.  Maria, 
Mensch,  Miss  Sarah, 
Mensch,  Mrs.  S.  J., 
Mensch,  Rev.  A.  R., 
iMerrill.  Mrs.  M., 
Merrill,  Sarah, 
Merrill,  Esq.,  .Jas., 


Date  of     5 
Death.     ■2 


June 
July 
May 
Jvme 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Nov. 
Apr. 


Dec. 

Aug. 

May 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Mar. 

Aug. 

Feb. 

Jan. 

July 

Oct. 

May 

Aug. 

Mar. 

Feb. 

.Jan. 

Jan. 

May 

June 

June 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Sept. 

July 

Aug. 

Jan. 

Apr. 

Sept. 

May 

Aug. 

Aug. 

May 

May 

Aug. 

June 

Nov. 

July 

July 

l^^eb. 

Oct. 

Mar. 

I\!ar. 

Ai)r. 

May 

June 

Sept. 

Oct. 


1818 

1835^ 

1851, 

1855: 

1827 

186988 

1855  67 

1875  71 

1822 

1823 

1826 

1827; 

1851 
1851  55 
1853 

1863  37 
1866 

1873  70 
1875  82 

1875  72 

1876  70 
1839 
18(51  43 
1863 
1851 

1864  49 

1874  (■)() 
1858  39 
1835  52 
1873 
1827 
18321 
185849 
1860  20 
187465 
18451 
1854  80 
1868  55 
1845 
1860:78 
1874  69 
18(i9  76 
1830 
1829 
1854  ! 
1837 
1860  82 
1867 ,33 
1868.82 
18671 
1854  74 
1863| 
1876  64 
1S76  63 
1876  30 
18251 
1831 
1841 


84 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  P'ALLEV. 


573 


Merrill,  Esq.,  Chas., 
:Meirill,  INIrs.  S.  B., 
Mertz,  Catherine, 
Mertz,  Jacob, 
]Mertz,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Mertz,  Mrs.  Nancy, 
Mervine,  Mrs.  M., 
Metzgar,  Marg.  C, 
Metzgar,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Metzgar,  Kebecea, 
Metzgar,  Mrs.  C.  jSI., 
Middleswarth,  Ner, 
Miller,  Samuel, 
Mitchell,  (ieorge. 
Miller,  Valentine, 
Miller,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Miller,  Mrs.  Isab'a, 
Miller,  .John  F., 
Miller,  George, 
Miller,  Hugh, 
Miller,  George, 
Miller,  .Jeremiah, 
Miller,  Mrs.  J.  H., 
Miller,  IVIrs.  Sarah, 
Miller,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Miller,  .John, 
Miller,  .John  F., 
Miller,  ]Mrs.  K.  V., 
Miller,  Isaac, 
MUler,  Joseph, 
Miller,  Margaret, 
Miller,  Mrs.  S.  H., 
Mitchell,  John, 
Millhouse,  Jacob, 
Millhouse,  .Jno.  N., 
Millhouse,  Jul'a  W. 
Millhouse,  :Mrs.  R., 
Mitchell,  Nathan, 
Motz,  John, 
Moll,  Mrs. 
IMontague,  Thomas, 
Montelius,  Peter, 
Montgomery,  Eliz., 
jNIontgomery,  John, 
iSIontgomery,  Thos. 
Montgomery,  D., 
^Montgomery,  Mary, 
Montgomery,  Jas., 
Mook,  John, 
INIook,  David, 
Moon,  jr.,  .John, 
Moore,  John, 
Moore,  .John, 
Moore,  .James, 
Moore,  Mrs.  Marv, 
Moore,  Mrs.  M.  A., 
Moore,  Edward  W., 
Moore,  Jane  W., 


Date  of 
Death. 


Dec.  25 
Aug.  4 
Sept.  2 
Apr.  5 
JSIar.  8 
.June  8 
Mar.  28 
Jan.  28 
Jan.  27 
Jan.  24 
May  13 
June  2 
Mar.  1 
Sept.  22 
Oct.  3 
Apr.  17 
Apr.  20. 
Aug.  2 
Oct.  9 
May  28 
Jan.  23 
Dec.  — 
Mar.  28, 
May  31 

Dec.  14 
July  25, 
Feb.  22 
Feb.  — 
Dec.  1 
May  28 
July  24 
May  3 
Apr.  22 
Apr.  14 

Apr.  8 
Dec.  3 
Nov.  22 
Oct.  6 
Oct.  24 
July  2 
Mar.  23 
Apr.  29 

Nov.  23 
Nov.  17 
]Mar.  9 
:May  16 
Apr.  — , 
Mar.  11 
Apr.  9 
Julv  17 
Mar.  29 
Feb.  16 
Oct.  1 
Sept  14 
Apr.  25 


1865  42 

1876  82 
lS4:i  :,- 
1859  78 
1870  76 
1873]56 
1862 '86 
18461 
1847174 
1852 '39 
1865|55 
1865  83 
18261 
1827 
1828 
1845 
1849 
1851 
1851160 
1856  i  60 
1859170 
l«6ll 
1861:!  [36 
1862  78 
1863 
1871 186 
1870  68 
1874  28 
1869 

1873  66 

1877  78 
1876! 

1862  69 
1870 '68 
18351 
1845  83 
1872  68 
1864 
1849 
1869  90 
1842  37 
1859  68 
1850 
1853  93 
1853 
1859  93 
1864  63 

1874  52 
1867  83 
1867 
18291 
1834 
1840 
1855  76 
1858  80 
1858  44 
1861  29 

1863  62 


Date  op 
Death. 


Moore,  E.  C, 
:Moore,  D.,(W.  B.) 
Moran,  ]Mrs.  ^lary, 
Morrison,  Mrs.  H. 
Morrison,  Thomas, 
Morrison,  Gabriel, 
Morrison,  Eliza, 
Morrison,  Rev.W.S. 
Morrow,  .Jane, 
Morrow,  Alexander, 
Morton,  William, 
Morton,  Alexander, 
^Morton,  P0II3', 
Morton,  John, 
Morton,  Nancy, 
Morton,  Elizabeth, 
Morton,  Alexander, 
Mowery,  Cath., 
Mowrer,  Mrs. 
iSIowrer,  Andrew, 
Mowrer,  James, 
Moj-er,  John, 
]Moyer,  William  P. 
Moyer,  Jacob, 
Moyer,  Daniel, 
Murphy,  Griffith, 
Mvirray,  -Joseph  M., 
Murray,  Marg., 
Murray,  Mrs.  E.  N., 
Muri-ay,  Mrs.  C, 
Murray,  Mrs.  E., 
Murray,  Esq.,  J.  F., 
Musser,  John, 
Musser,  Esq.,  J., 
Musser,  Margaret, 
Musser,  Mary, 
]Musser,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Mj-ers,  Samviel, 
jMyers,  Amanda, 
Myer,  Harriet, 
Mej^ers,  Peter, 
Meyers,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Nees,  Michael, 
Neti;  Peter, 
Nelson,  Joseph, 
Nesbit,  Alexander, 
Nesbit,  Mrs.  Isabel. 
Nesbit,  INIrs. 
Nesbit,  Sarah  Ann, 
Nesbit,  Mary, 
Nesbit,  jr.,  John, 
Nesbit,  Jonathan, 
Nesbit,  Esq.,  Wm., 
Nesbit,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Nesbit,  Alexander, 
Nesbit,  Mrs.  Nancy, 
Nesbit,  James, 
Nesbit,  Thomas, 


Apr.  21, 
Dec.  28, 
Sept.  8, 
Apr.  — , 

May  '2X, 
Julv  19, 
Mai-.  18, 
Mar.  15, 
Julv  7, 
Aug.  11, 
Julv  30, 
Jan.  2, 
P'eb.  2, 
Apr.  16, 
May  5, 
July  30, 
June  8, 
Dec.  3, 
Aug.  18, 
Feb.  1, 
Feb.  1, 
Apr.  13, 
May  8, 
Dec.  20, 
Oct.  14, 
Nov.  27, 
Sept.  24, 
July  15, 
June  21, 
Jan.  24, 
Mar.  17, 
June  3, 
Oct.  2i!, 
Nov.  9, 
Mar.  — , 
Aug.  7, 
Oct.  16, 
Nov.  17, 
May  3, 
Apr.  2, 
July  16, 
Nov.  1, 
Sept.  16, 

Nov.  8, 
Sejjt.  13, 
Jan.  26, 
X\)V.  5, 
Teb.  23, 
Mar.  7, 
May  19, 
Jan.  22, 
May  26, 
June  18, 
Aug.  24, 

Mar.  loj 


1868  57 

18741 
1859  (iO 
1804  49 
1826 
1830 
1832 
1858 
18481 

1862  92 
18251 
1826:45 
18281 
1830  j 
1849;  69 
I86OI5I 
1876 145 
1875175 
1827 
1829 
18391 
184S;60 

1863  35 
1870J79 
187374 
18681,57 
1830 1 
1841 1:31 
1845 
1850177 
1853 
1869 
1830 
1837 
1837 
1863 
1872  81 
1825 

1869  76 
1834 
185472 
1863 157 
1856 160 
1856 
1823 
1823  69 
1827 
1832 
1849 
1856 

1858  24 

1859  (52 
18607(J 

1861  67 
18(]2  70 

1862  84 
18()3l 

1863  74 


574 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Nesbit,  Sarah, 
Nesbit,  John, 
Nesbit,  Eliziibeth, 
Nesbit,  Mrs.  Marv, 
Nesbit,  K.  I., 
Neuer,  Henry, 
Neuer,  Mrs.  Eliza. 
Nevius,  Ralpli, 
Nevius,  Mis.  Lucr. 
Nevius,  Aaron  C, 
Nevius,  Peter, 
Newman,  Mrs.  M., 
Neyhart,  Daniel, 
Nicely,  vSaniuel, 
Noetling,  Dr.  Wm., 
Nogel,  Jacob, 
Nogel,  Mrs.  ISIarv, 
Noil,  INIrs.  Marv  E., 
Noll,  Col.  Henrv, 
Noll,  William,  " 
Noll,  .John, 
Noll,  Samuel  L., 
Noll,  Samuel, 
Noll,  Peter, 
Noll,  Elias, 
Nyhart,  Michael, 
Oliphant,  Charlotte, 
Orwig,  John, 
Orwig,  Creorge, 
Orwig,  Jacob, 
Orwig,  Samuel, 
Orwig,  Mrs.  M.  A., 
Osboni,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Painter,  John, 
Painter,  John, 
Painter,  Thomas, 
Palmer,  Lewis, 
Pardoe,  .lohn, 
Pardoe,  Escj.,  H., 
Parks,  Elizabeth,      | 
Parr,  Mrs.  JCliz., 
Parsons,  Rebecca,  J. 
Patterson,  Robert, 
Patterson,  S.  M., 
Patterson,  Mrs.  R., 
Patterson,  J.  R., 
Patterson,  Win.  A., 
Paul,  Sampson, 
Paul,  Jolin, 
Peifer,  (Jeorge, 
Peifer,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Pellman,  Sanuiel, 
Penny,  \\'illiain. 
Penny,  Jane, 
Penny,  William, 
Penny,  Ilugli, 
Penny,  Jolm, 
Penny,  Thoma.s, 


Date  of      h 
Dkath.      :^ 


Sept.  15,  1864  74 
Jan.  27,  1865  80 
JMav  22,  1867  70 
I  Nov.  25,  1868  73 
Aug.  31,  1873  47 
I  Sept.  1,  1866  65 
'Feb.  1,  1872  75 
Sept.  22,  1832 i 
Jan.  19, 1841  73 
2,  1857  48 
22,  1869,74 

4,  1859  65 
7,  1S()4'47 

5,  1832 


Oct. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Jan. 

Sept. 


Jan.   22,  1861 '84 
Apr.  18,  1860  64 
Jan.    17,  1864  37 
June  21,  1846  86 
Nov.    9,  1847 
Mar.  12,  1851 1 
Mar.    4,  1858,77 
Mav     5,  1864 1 57 
Dec.   18,  1866164 
Oct.      2,  18(59  80 
Apr.  13,  1876156 
June  — ,  18()9i67 
June  13,  1862  70 
Aug.  19,  1828i 
Dec.     2,  1841 
>Tan.   23,  1859176 
.Sept.    7,  1872  75 
'June   7,  1875  39 
Apr.    7,  1874  71 
'May  22,  1854  m 
June    6,  1862  36 
Feb.  12,  1863  78 
'Mav   24,  1860  46 
.April  1,  1859  48 
lApril  4,  1864  63 
|Aug.  22,  1S29  1^4 
I  Mar.  27,  1828' 
Aug  — ,  1846  56 
July  — ,  1826! 
Jan.   29,  1840 ! 
Jan.   20,  1842  60 
May     8,  1843  70 
July  15,  1854  83 
May     4,  1843  41 
June  6,  1870  65 
Aug.    7,  1861  57 
Sept.  27,  186107 
Julv  25,  1875  81 
Nov.  25,  1829  75 
July  21,  1850 
Jan.  20,  1852 
Dec.     3,  1853 
Aug.    6,  18()8  78 
Aug.  28,  1808  65 


Penny,  Jane  E., 
Penny,  Alexander, 
Peters,  ;Mi(!hael, 
Phillips,  Mrs.  G., 
Phillips,  Dennis, 
Phlegor,  Ludwig, 
Phlegor,  John, 
Piper,  Dr.  F.  A., 
Piper,  Mrs.  M.  M. 
Poak,  William, 
Poath,  :Mrs.  Eliz., 
Poath,  IIenr3% 
Pollock,  Mrs.  I., 
Pollock,  Mrs.  Eliza, 
Pollock,  Margaret, 
Pollock,  Thomas, 
Pontius,  Peter, 
Pontius,  Elizabeth, 
Pontius,  John  V., 
Pontius,  Rachael, 
Pontius,  Philip, 
Pontius,  Mrs.  M., 
Porter,  Samuel, 
Porter,  William, 
Potter,  ]\[rs.  Maria, 
Potter,  James, 
Pratt,  Charles, 
Preistly,  Joseph  R., 
Pross,  Richard, 
Piusel,  Daniel, 
Pursel,  Peter, 
Quiddington,  Mrs. 
Quinn,  Terrence, 
Quinn,  Michael, 
Ramsey,  Esq . ,  Wni. , 
Ranck,  IJarbara, 
Ranck,  Daniel,  H., 
Ranck,  Daniel, 
Ranck,  Adain, 
Ranck,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Ranck,  Joel, 
Ranck,  William, 
Ranck,  Mrs.  Jane, 
Raser,  Thomas, 
Rawn,  Nathan, 
Ray,  Mrs.  Jane, 
Ray,  Escj.,  John, 
Reedy,  Philip, 
Ream,  Miss  Elean., 
Ream,  John  N., 
Ream,  Sauuiel, 
Reber,  Mrs., 
Reber,  Jolm, 
Reber,  .James, 
Reber,  Margaret, 
Reed,  George, 
Reed,  John, 
Reed,  Stewart, 


Date  of 
Death. 


Feb.    18  1869'60 
Nov.    6,  1874  63 
June  12  18541 
Sept.  17,  1827 1 
Apr.  22,  1863  52 
Mar.  15,  1858  74 
Sept.  25,  1860  71 
Apr.  22,  1831 
Dec.   10,  1876  74 
Aug.  13,  1830  68 
'Oct.    18,  1863  49 
April  9,  1865  79 
Oct.    23,  18241 
Julv    3,  1833 
Octr    13,  1842; 
Aug.    5,  1861 
Dec.   24,  186279 
Mav     2,  1863  39 
June  17,  1869  81 
Mar.  1(),  1868  63 
Sejjt.    7,  1872  83 
Apr.  18,  1876  72 
Jan.   10,  18251 

19,  1872  68 
10,  18261 
Mar.  22,  1865:75 
Auir.  24,  1829 

10,  186372 
26,  1874  57 


Au<^ 
Apr, 


iNov, 
Jan. 
I  Mav 

'>.ov, 
jAug 
Feb. 
iOct. 
Mar. 


1861 
11,  1867 
13,  1874 
10  1831 
20,  1854 
— ,  1831 
28,  1830 
lAug.  25,  1847 
Nov.  16,  1854 
:Mar.  8,  1860 
Aug.  1,  1864 
Oct.  1,  1868 
Apr.  29,  1875 
Mav  28,  1875 

— ,  1858 

Jan.  28,  1865 
Mar.  3,  18(50 
ISept.  10,  1864 

: — ,  1822 

Mar.  28,  1858 
Jan.  — ,  1835 
Oct.  2,  1874 
June  11,  1S45 
June  22,  1852 
Sept.  20,  1853 
Sept.  24,  1863 
Sept.  20,  J  854 
Mar.  22,  18(50 
Nov.    6,  1864 


78 
87 
73 
93 
69 

75 

75 
79 
33 

82 
69 
70 

58 
72 
80 

66 
69 

83 

82 
48 
54 
74 
79 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


575 


Date  of 
Death, 


Reed,  Joseph,  Jan.  28,  1868  66 

Reed,  Mrs.  Rachel,  iJune  8,  1873  64 
Reed,  George,  Apr.  10,  1874  69 

Reed,  Mrs.  Cath.,  Sept.  8,  1874  73 
Reed,  Peter,  Apr.    4,  1875  67 

Reedv,  Andrew,  Nov.  10,  1827  45 
ReedV,  John,  Nov.  18,  1845 

Reedv,  Jacob,  Nov.  22,  1854  84 

ReedV,  Mrs.  Cath.,  Oct.  8,1856  84 
Reedy,  Jacob,  JFeb.    6,  1866  40 

Rees,"  Miss  Hannah, 'Mar.  15,  1829 
Rees,  Miss  Nancy,    Nov.  17,  1853  88 
Rees,  Senia,  July  28,  1863  63 

Rehmel,  George,  Oct.  21,  1823  35 
Reichlv,  Christian,  Apr.  7,  1863  77 
Reideiibaugh,  Dan.,  July  16,  1859  60 
Reidenbaugh,  Jno.,  Aug.  30,  186168 
Reish,  Daniel,  Oct.    12,  1847  48 

Reish,  John,  ^Feb.  — ,  1848 

Reitinver,  George,  Sept.  23,  1860  70 
Reitmyer,  Mrs.  S.,  Feb.  26,  1873  77 
Rengler,  Jolm,  IFeb.  20,  1825  66 

Rengler,  Catherine,  i  Dec.  11,  1844  72 
Rengler,  Mrs.  M.  D.j  June  — ,  1847J 
Rengler,  .Jacob,         'Jan.     9,  1853i 
Rengler,  George,      'Mav     5,  1856  70 
Rengler,  Mrs.  Susa.JAug.  29,  18581 
Rengler,  Daniel,        June    5,  1874183 
Renner,  Catherine,  |Sept.  20,  1863;41 
Renner,  Frederick,  Nov.    1,  1865 ;S2 
Reznor,  Ann,  Oct.    25,  1828 

Reznor,  Mrs.  Nov.  — ,  1828 

Reznor,  sr.,  John,     Oct.    31,  1835 
Reznor,  James,  May  22,  1836 

Rheeni,  George,  Isept.  18,  1861190 
Rhoads,  Jacob,  July  22,  1851  i77 

Rhoads,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Feb.  19,  1858:72 
Rhoads,  John,  Feb.    2,  1876 178 

Richart,  John  F.,  Aug.  17,  1869  64 
Richavt,  Mrs.  Marv,  Sept.  17,  1875:69 
Richter,  Peter,  Mav  25,  1846  69 

Riehl,  John,  Apr.  14,  1864  33 

Rishell,  Mrs.  Apr.  11,  1846 

Rishell,  Martin,         Dec.  — ,  1849 
Rishell,  John,  Sept.  — ,  1851  70 

Rishell,  John,  Dec.  30,  1859  79 

Rishell,  Daniel,  Nov.  8,  1868136 
Ritter,  George,  iSept.  17,  1825|70 

Ritter,  Elizabeth,       Jan.   19,  1846i35 
Ritter,  Col.  Jacob,     Julv  28,  1849  47 
Ritter,  Willam  H.,    Mar.  11, 
Ritter,  John,  Mar.  10, 

Robb,  James,  j — , 

Rolil),  Nancy,  jOct.      8, 

Robins,  Daniel,  j  Jan.  20, 
Robinson,  Ann,  [Aug,  12, 
Robinson,  Samuel,  Sept.  15, 
Robinson,  Mrs.  S.,  iSept.  19, 


Date  of 
Death. 


1861  26 
1872 
1839 
1849  87 
1864  99 
1825 
1825 
1825 


Robinson,  William,  Dec.  1,  1852  85 
Robinson,  Adeline,  |Jvilv  12,  1854  26 
Robinson,  Mrs.  M.,  OcC  13,  18(55  95 
Robinson,  Wilson,  Nov.  19,  1867|51 
Rockefeller,  David, lAug,  22,  1876|76 
Rockey,  John,  lApr.  20,  1842:59 

Rockey,  George,       jOct.      3,  185370 
Rockev,  Elizabeth,  IFeb.     6,  187273 
Rodearmel,  Sam'l,  iFeb.  11,1843  52 
Rohland,  Richard,    ^Nlar.  20,  1850 
Roland,  Charles,        July  31,  1865 
Roland,  John,  Jan.   31,  1866 

Rorabaugh,  Philip,  July  3,  1837 
Roshong,  Henrv,  Dec.  29,  1850;85 
Rote,  Mrs.  Elean'a,  Apr.  20,  1875,70 
Rothermell,  Mrs.  C.Aug.  4,  187694 
Ross,  James,  P.,  i July  31,  1860  52 
Roush,  George.  lAug.  23,  1839  84 
Roiish,  Marv  Ann,  'Mar.    7,1848  25 


Roush,  Maria  E., 
Roush,  Michael, 
Roush,  Esq.,  Sani'l, 
Royer,  .Joel, 
Royer,  Joel, 
Royer,  Jacob, 
Ruhl,  George  P., 
Ruhl,  Mrs.  Sarah, 


Oct.  11,  1857  63 
Apr.  19,  1859  77 
Feb.  5,  187377 
Oct.  15,  1853:75 
Aug.  6,  I872I53 
Mar.  30,  1876177 
Apr.  29,  1843'82 
Aug,    9,  1863:67 


Sanderson,  Henry,  IFeb.  8,  1828 
Sanders,  sr.,  Henry,  Feb.  17,  1850  82 
Sanders,  Henry,  '  Jan.  11,1870  74 
Sands,  David,  Apr.  13,  1850 

Sands,  James  W.,      May,  10,  1877  59 
Sawyer,  Matilda,       Feb.     8,  1827 
Savers,  Ethan,  Dec.  26,  1845 

Sayers,  Mrs.  A.,  Feb.  23,  1S46 
Sciiatlle,  Joseph,  Jan.  11,1863  36 
Schaffle,  Charles  D.,  Feb.  — ,  1863 
Schaffle,  Frank  S.,  Apr.  6.  1876  34 
Schnable,  jr.,  Geo.,  Aug.  5,1854  32 
Schnable,  Hon.  G.,  Dec.  13,  1863  74 
Schock,  Mrs.  H.,  Dec.  9,  1875  60 
Schrack,  Benjamin,  Dec.  9,  1828  67 
Schrack,  Susanah,  June  19,  1842  70 
Schrack,  Esq.,  Jno.,  June  4,  1860  58 
Schrack,  Eve,  Jan.   15,  1861  86 

Schrack,  Daniel,  Dec.  25,  1869  58 
Schrack,  Mrs.  E.,  Sept.  20,  1876  60 
Schroyer,  Conrad,  Sept.  1,  1825  63 
Schrover,  ir.,  C,  Mar.  7,1855  65 
Schroyer,  Cath.,  Dec.  23,  1860|64 
Schwenck,  Esq.,  D.,  Jan.  19, 1861175 
Scudder,  Esq.,  D.,  Jan.  27,  1829 
Search,  Elijah,  Aug.  25,  1848  76 

Search,  Mrs.  Sarah,  iMar.  21,  1854  78 


Search,  Thomas, 
Search,  Stephen, 
Seebold,  Mrs.  B., 
Seebold,  Sarah, 


Sept.  25,  1862 
Apr.  15,  1864 
Aug.  22,  1825 
Mar.  19,  1828 


82 


57(> 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Date  of     s 
Death.       2 


Seebold,  Nancy,       Apr.  24,  1828 
Seebuld,  Philip,        July  24,  1874 '86 
Seerer,  Jacob,  Dec.  — ,  1824 

Serj2;(':mt.  Mrs.  Aug.  28,  1828 

Shailcr,  William,  June  .5,  1825 
Sliatler,  Esq.,  Hen., 'Mar.  1,  1833 
Shatter,  Esq.,  Sim.,  Oct.  22,  1838' 
Shatter,  Mrs..  |Nov.  10,  1853  87 

Shatter,  :Mathias,        Oct.    22,  1854 
Shatter,  INIrs.  Mat.,    Sept.  11,  1861  95 
Shatter,  David,  May     7,  186489 

Shamp,  Jesse,  ^    — ,  1824 

Shaiiip,  Ezra,  Dec.  — ,  1835! 

Sliannon,  Mrs.  M.,    Mar.     3,  1845J 
Shannon,  Eph.  P.,    Aug.  28,  ISol] 
Shearer,  Maj.  Ja.s.,    Apr.  11,  1864:77 
Scheckler,  Mrs.  E.,  Oct.    15,  1855; 
Shamory,  John  C,   July  11,  1868  95 
Shanq),  Mrs.  J.,         Sept.  27,  1873  79 
Sheckler,  Mrs.  C,     Oct.    25,  1832 
Slieckler,  Mrs.  M.,    Mar.  12,  1837 
Sheckler,  Daniel,      Aug.  30,  1842 
Sheckler,  Tobias,       June  10,  1850 
Sheckler,  Henry,      Feb.  15,  1874 
Sheckler,  Esq.,^V.,  Aug.  21,  1875 
Sheller,  Mrs.  Marg.,  Jan.     7,  1859 
Sheller,  Christian,     Sept.  13,  18()2[88 
Sheller,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  Apr.  25,  1863  62 
Sheiard,  William,     Apr.  — ,  18251 
Shipton,  Esq.,  T.,     |Feb.    4,1827  74 
Shields,  William,      May  21,1858  80 
Sliively,  Benjamin,  June  11,  1873  01 
Shoemaker,  15enj.,    Jan.   18,1856  70 
Shoemaker,  Sam.,     Jul}'  16,  1862  79 
Shoemaker,  INIrs.  S.,  July  29,  1865 

Showers, ,         Feb.     9,  1859  80 

Shrader,  Frederick,  June  5,  1873  82 
Shriller,  Mrs.  M.  E.,  Oct.  22,  1856  37 
Sliriner,  Esq.,  Jno.,  Dec.  3,  1860  70 
Shriner,  W.  B.,  jSept.  26,  186243 
Shriller,  Mrs.  Eliz.,lMar.  11,  1866  33 
Siiriiicr.  Samuel,  Jan.  17,1868  39 
Shuitk,  Peter,  JApr.  18,  1849  78 

Sierer,  Sarah,  iFeb.  27,  1875|62 

Silsby,  L^riah,  May  26,  1849 

Silsby,  l^sther,  Dec.   10,  1871  68 

Simoiitoii,  J.  W..  Sept.  10,  1853  30 
Simoiitoii,  .Jane  C.,  Apr.  6,  1854  30 
Simont(m,  James,  [Feb.  24,  185875 
Simonton,  Mrs.  M.,  Nov.  4,186168 
Sitfjs,  (ieorge,  |Oct.      6,  1824  69 

Sites,  Mrs.,  ;Nov.    4,1846  87 

Sleer,  Jacob,  June    6,  1857  67 

Slear,  Mrs.  Eliz.,  Jan.  13,1872  75 
Slear,  Daniel,  Jan.   22,  1874  62 

Slear,  (xeorge.  Mar.     1,  1875  82 

Slenker,  Jac(jb,  Nov.  — ,  1863  60 
Slenker,  Esq.,J.G.,!Feb.  11,  187129 


Slifer,  David  C, 
Slil'er,  Jacob, 
Slonaker,  INIrs.  A., 
Slough,  .lacob, 
Sinaitzried,  Gotlieb, 
Smiley,  Rev.  Thos., 
Smith,  Elizjibeth, 
Smith,  Dr.  Jos.  L., 
Smith,  Dr.  .Jonas, 
Smith,  Catherine, 
Smith,  Elizabeth, 
Smith,  Gideon, 
Smith,  INIichael, 
Smith,  Charles  D., 
Smith,  Susanna, 
Smith,  Key.  W.  R., 
Smith,  Rev.  J.  W., 
Smith,  John  B., 
Smith,  Wilson, 
Smith,  INIrs.  Marj', 
Smith,  George, 
Smith,  Esq.,  A.  W., 
Smith,  George, 
Snook,  Daniel  E., 
Snyder,  INIrs.  Mary, 
Snyder,  Simon, 
Snj^der,  Hon.  John, 
Snyder,  George  A., 
Snyder,  Antis, 
Snyder,  Mary  M., 
Snyder,  Keviben, 
Snyder,  Henry  W., 
Solomon  John, 
Soult,  David, 
Spatz,  Lewis, 
Spatz,  Joseph, 
Specht,  Adam. 
Spidler,  Daniel, 
Spidler,  David, 
Spidler,  .Jacob, 
Si)ii:elm\er,  M.  E., 
Spoils,  Sniiiuel, 
Spntts,  Michael, 
Spotts,  Mary, 
Spotts,  INIichael, 
Splicer,  Mrs.  Maria, 
Spyker,  .Jonatlian, 
Sjiyker,  Solma, 
SpVker,  Mrs.  E., 
Stahl,  John, 
Stahl,  Adam, 
Stahl,  Lewis, 
Stahl,  Jacob, 
Stahl,  Elizabeth, 
Stahl,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Stahl,  George, 
Stahl,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Stahl,  Jeremiah, 


Date  of      w 
Death,      .i 

Aug.  18,  1864'50 
Mar.  3,  18(iS  48 
Sept.  25,  1874  S7 
Apr.  21,  187ii  (M 
Sept.    6,  186:!  25 

i — ,  1832  73 

About  1822. 
Dec.  5,  1825 
Mar.  17,  1826 
July  3,  1829 
May  22,  1836 
Apr.  — ,  1841 
July  2,  1841 ! 
June  10,  1844  45 

— ,  1850 

Sept.  9,  1849  58 
Apr.  1,  1852 
Mar.  19,  1859 
Mar.  1,  1862  55 
Feb.  28,  18(i2  33 
Jan.  19,  1869  66 
Feb.  12,  1870  53 
Mar.  6,  1871 
Sept.  14,  1845 
Oct.   8,  1823 
May  10,  1838  75 
Aug.  15,  1850  CO 
June  — ,  1865  66 
Dec.  — ,  1861 
June  14,  1865  25 
Nov.  24,  1876  60 
Apr.  18,  1866 

_,  1840  C,(\ 

,  1824  72 

Aug.  9,  1853  26 
May  20,  1857  73 
Oct.  4,  1824  (i9 
Aug.  5,  1826, 
May  30,  1862  52 
Apr.  21,  1873  76 
July  7,  1847  84 

17,  1864  48 

18,  1872  86 
23,  1865  45 
— ,  1872  86 
12,  1829  75 

9,  1S62  78 
25  1868  81 
5,  1868  80 
— ,  1832 
21,  1850 
2,  1855  30 
29,  1856  70 
Sept.  22,  1856  71 
INIav  4,  1860  28 
Apr.  12,  1861  83 
Aug.  25,  18(il  68 
Apr.  12,  1862  26 


Ma\ 
Oct'. 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Dec, 
Jan. 
Dec. 
Apr 
Oct. 
.Jan. 
Ans 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


577 


Stahl  Jacob, 
Stahl,  Peter, 
vSteans,  John, 
Stainin,  John, 
St.  Clair,  John, 
St.  Clair,  Mrs.  R., 
Steadman,  Eliz., 
Steacbnan,  Marg., 
Steadman,  Marg., 
Steadman,  Wni.  C, 
Steadman,  ^Irs.  R., 
Steadman,  David, 
Steadman,  H.  C, 
Steans,  Mrs.  N., 
Stees,  .John, 
Sterner,  Nathan, 
Sterner,  Christop'r 
Sterner,  Peter, 
Sterrett,  .Tohn  A., 
Stillwell,  lion.  .Jos., 
Stillwell,  Mrs.  Ann, 
Stinemel,  Mr., 
Stitzel,  Jacob, 
Stock,  Martin  A., 
Stoughton,  Roland 
Stoughton,  Mrs.  J., 
Stoughton,  .J.  S. 
Stoughton,  Fred., 
Stover,  Mr&i.  M.  M., 
Strahan,  Peter, 
Stratton,  Tyler, 
Stratton,  Mrs.  R., 
Straub,  Andrew, 
Straub,  Abram, 
Strawbridgc,  Mary, 
vStrawbridge,  ,J., 
vStrawbridge,  Mrs.  C. 
Strayhorn,  Eliza, 
Streighorn,  Peter, 
Streighorn,  Robert, 
Strickland,  Samuel, 
Strohecker,  Leah, 
Strohecker,  Dr.  S., 
Struble,  Mrs.  M., 
Sullivan,  Wm.  B., 
Sutherland,  Col.  T., 
Sutherland,  Jane, 
Swarm,  sr.,  John, 
Swarm,  .John, 
Swartz,Geo.(W.D.) 
Swineford,  .John, 
Swineford,  Mrs,  M., 
Svpher,  Jacob, 
Tate,  William, 
Taylor,  Thomas, 
Taylor,  William  C, 
Templeton,  Sam., 
Templeton,  Rev.  J., 
37 


Date  of 
Dkath. 


Dec,  29, 
Apr.  28 
May  27 
Mar.  11 
Jun,  30 
Apr.  30 
Nov,  10 
Feb,  3 
July  27 
Dec,  17 
Oct.  7 
Mar.  22 
May  22 
Apr,  26 
July  29 

Jan,  4 
Apr,  25 
April  4 
Aug.  22 
.Jun.  28 
Sept,  26. 
Dec.  8 
Feb.  16 
Sept,  3 
Sept,  28, 

Apr,  25 
Sept,  26 
Sept.  20 
Mar, 
Mar,  29 
Oct.  23 
Aug,  21 
Oct,  11 
;Sept,  25 
.Jun.  4 
Dec,  11 
Sept.  20, 
iMay  8 
Apr,  23 
Feb.  19, 
Aug.  26 
Aug.  15 
Sept.  1 
Oct.  15 
Feb,  9 
Sept,  24 
Mar.  25 
Ajir.  17 
June  24 
Aug,  13 
Jiine  6 
Julv  19, 
Sept,  19 
.June  9 
l^eb.  18 
Dec.     3 


58 


67 


1864  82 
1868,81 
185178 

1875  60 
1873 
1875 
1827 
1832 
1834 
1840 
1843 
1863 
1876 '43 
186l'83 
1855 
1829 
1841 
1864 
1872'71 
185174 

1862  72 
1844! 

1863  68 

1857  ;70 
18321 
1842 
1857 

1869  69 

1876  71 
1845 
1825 
1850 
1824 '38 

1864  60 
1829 1 
1861  87 

1870  80 
186778 
1845 1 
1833  67 

1858  79 
18531 
186975 
1868  60 
1850  45 
1816  84 
1819  82 
1827 
1841  66 

1871  65 
1867:45 
1872! 
1854  74 

1859  59 
1868  76 
1874  70 
1826  72 
1843i 


Date  op 
Death. 


Tharp,  Esq.,  James, 
Thompson,  Wm., 
Thompson,  .John, 
Thompson,  Benj., 
Thompson,  Mrs.  .J., 
Tliompson,  Rev.  G., 
Thompson,  Mrs.  M., 
Thompson,  Chas.L., 
Thomi^son,  Mrs.  B., 
Thornton,  Dr.  T.  A., 
Thornton,  Mrs.  A., 
Thursbv,  Margaret, 
Todd,  Rev.  Nath., 
Trester,  George, 
Trout,  John, 
Trutt,  Mrs.  Eve, 
Tucker,  Martha  G., 
Tweed,  David, 
Tweed,  William, 
Ulsh,  Andrew, 
Valentine,  Bond, 
Van  Buskirk,  Thos. 
Van  Buskirk,  Rich. 
Van  Buskirk,  John, 
Van  Buskirk,  .John, 
Vanhorn,  Espj% 
Van  Gundy, Christ., 
Vanvalzali^  Mrs.  E., 
Vanvalz;ih,jr.,Dr.R. 
Vanvalzah,jr.,Dr.T, 
Vanvalzah,  .John  A. 
Vanvalzah,  Mrs.  N,, 
Vanvalzah,  W,  W,, 
Vanvalzah,  Rob.  H., 
Vanvalzali,  Mrs.  S., 
Vanvalzah,  Mrs.  H., 
Voneida,  Peter, 
Voneida,  John, 
Voneida,  Esther, 
Vornando,  Mrs., 
Vorse,  Dr.  Isaac  S., 
Vorse,  Mrs.  Eliz., 
Waggenseller,  Dr., 
Waggenseller,  Wm. 
Wagner,  Andrew, 
Wagner,  Mrs.  R., 
W^agner,  Michael, 
Wagner,  Daniel, 
Wagner,  :\rrs.  S., 
Walborn,  Martin, 
Waldrum,  Samuel, 
Wales,  Mary,  N.  B, 
Wales,  Mary, 
Walker,  .John, 
Walker.  I'^rancis, 
Walker,  Mrs,  Mary, 
Walker,  Thomas, " 
Wallace,  Polly, 


Mar.  27 
Apr,  1 
Aug,  22 
Oct.  — 
Aug.  21 
Jan.  28 
Apr.  10 
June  29, 
.Jan.  — 
Feb.  8, 
Apr.  24 
Jan, 
July  8 
Mav  28 
:Mar,  15 
Aug,  19 
Apr,  20, 

Feb,  1 
Apr.  19 
Oct.  — , 
Sept.  12 
Oct.  9 
Aug,  2 
Jan,  28, 
Aug,  25 
Sept,  30 
Mar.  30, 
Mar,  14 
Mav  23 
Aug,  26 
Apr,  26 
Oct,  13 
Julv  25 
Nov.  1( 
Julv  25, 
Aug.  26 
Mar,  26 
July    8, 

Jan,  17 
Aug,  17 
Apr,  28, 
Aug,  10 
Dec.  30 
Aug.  22 
Dec.  22 
Aug.  20, 
Apr.  13 
Sept,  20 
Aug.  25 
Mav  15 
Feb:  20 
Sept.  IS 
.June  9 
Julv  1(1 
Sept.  17 
Mar,  17 


t22 

\ 

■68 


,  1849 

,  1823  72 
,  1823  70 
,  1830 
,  1839 
,  1864  43 
,  1864 
,  1865 
,  1869,60 
,  1867  51 
,  1873 
,  1848  91 
,  1867,88 
,  1850 
,  1862 
,  1861 
,  1864 
,  1824 
,  18.57 
,  1864  79 
,  18621 
,  1830 
,  1830  66 
,  1836 
,  1874 1 80 
,  1829 
,  1836 
,  1840 
,  1851 
,  1852 
,  1854 
,  1857 
,  1857 
,  18(^0  36 
,  1862  45 
,  1870l69 
,  1853173 
,  1858i77 
,  1865 
,  1823 
,  1839 
,  1873 
,  1847 
,  1876 
,  1826 
,  1834 
,  1858:72 
,  1861  62 
,  1S72'81 
,  1865  65 
,  1858  .55 
,  1826158 
,  1820 
,  18271 
,  1S67  50 
,  1S67  85 
,  1868  58 
,  1829 I 


142 


S7S 


AM.VALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Wallace,  Joseph  G., 
Wallace,  Sarah, 
Wallace,  William, 
Wallace,  Elizabeth, 
Wallace,  Joseish, 
Wallace,  Mrs.  N., 
Walter,  Williaui, 
Waller,  Abrain, 
Walls,  Miss  S.  McC. 
Walls,  Johnson, 
Waters,  Thomas, 
M'aters,  Mrs.  Ellen, 
Watson,  Mrs.  M., 
Watson,  Samuel, 
Watson,  Robert, 
Watson,  Mrs.  S.  C, 
Watson,  William, 
Watson,  David, 
\\'eaver,  Jacob, 
Weaver,  M.  H., 
Weidensaul,  A.  J., 
Weirick,  Mrs.  M., 
Weist,  Miss  E., 
Wehr,  Simon, 
Weirick,  Esq.,  D., 
Weirick,  Esq.,  S., 
Welker,  Mrs.  L., 
Welch,  Esq.,  C, 
Welsh,  Plenrv, 
Wert/-,  John, 
Wetzel,  Henry, 
White,  James, 
Whiting,  Wni.  B., 
Whitmer,  Ann, 
Whitmer,  Sebas'n, 
Whitmer,  Peter, 
Wliittaker,  John, 
Wikott;  Peter, 
Wildtront,  Fred., 
Willu'lm,  Moses, 
Williamson,  Rev.  J 
Wilson,  l-^lizabeth, 
Wilson,  Mary, 
Wilson,  Sarah, 
Wilson,  'riioma.s, 
Wilson,  .James, 
Wilson,  l<:iizabeth, 
Wilson.  Mrs.  Cath. 
Wilson,  .John, 
Wilson,  Samuel, 
Wilson,  Sanmel  H., 
Wilson,  Mrs.  Eliz 
Wilson,  Tlios.  C;., 
Wilson,  Charles, 
Wilson,  I':s(i.,  Sam. 
Wilson,  Ahithia.s, 
Wilson,  .lolm  F., 
Wils<jn,  liouisa, 


Date  of 
Death. 


Jan. 

Julv 

Julv 

Nov. 

Mar. 

Oct. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

Sejjt. 

Sept. 

Mar. 

Jan. 

Sept. 

Mar. 

May 

Oct. 

Apr. 

Feb. 

Aug. 

Mar. 

Aug. 

Dec. 

Apr. 

Feb. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

May 

July 

Oct. 

Jan. 

Jan. 

Oct. 

July 

June 

Julv 

Ma5' 

June 

Apr. 

Apr. 

July 

Apr. 

May 

Dec. 

Nov. 

Aug, 

Jan. 

Jan. 

Mar. 

Aug. 

May 

June 

Nov. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

July 


18441 

1849 

1857  77 

I860I44 

18fi2'80 

1868(59 

1874;60 

1869  57 

1860:18 

1868'50 

1864  65 

1868 '95 

1825 

1841 

1846 

1849 

1866  70 

1874180 


1862 
1872 
1869 
1861 
1875 
1840 
1866 
1869 
1860 
1855 
18()2 

1861  73 
1850  90 

1862  {44 
186133 
1845  70 
1846 173 
1877178 
1859164 
18321 
1848  71 
1862,72 
1865  69 
1823 
1828' 
18291 
1831 
1831 
1832 
1835' 
1842! 
1843 
1850 
1851 
1853 
1853 
18551 
1859;50 
1859  66 
I860!  32 


Date  of 
Death. 


Wilson,  William, 
Wilson,  Hon.  A.  S., 
Wilson,  ]Mrs.  Ann, 
^\'ilson,  Mrs.  Sarah, 
Wilson,  Hugh, 
Wilson,  Francis, 
Wilson,  Mrs.  S.  B., 
^Vilt,  Adam, 
Wilt,  Esq.,  Jno.  C, 
Winegardner,  P., 
■\^'im'gardncr,  N., 
AN'incuaidner,  H., 
^\'inegardner,  Alb., 
Winters,  Sarah, 
Winters,  David, 
Winters,  Mrs.  C, 
Winters,  Margaret, 
Winters,  Daniel, 
Winters,  Sarah, 
Winters,  Mrs.  Reb., 
Wise,  Mrs.  Barbara, 
Wise,  IMrs.  Eleanor, 
Witmer,  Sebastian, 
Witnier,  Mrs.  S., 
\A'ittenmyer,  Jacob, 
Wolfe,  Jonathan, 
Wolfe,  Michael, 
Wolfe,  Samuel, 
Wolfe,  Anthonv, 

Wolfe, , 

Wolfe,  Samuel, 
Wolfe,  Mrs.  Mary, 
Wolfe,  Mrs.  Han'h, 
Wolfe,  John, 
Wolfe,  Andrew, 
Wolfe,  Peter, 
\^'olfe,  Mrs.  Eve.,     ' 
Wolfe,  Leonard, 
Wolfe,  Mrs.  E.  ]M., 
Wolsey,  Henry, 
Woods,  Christop'r, 
Woomer,  Mrs., 
Worninn,  F.  S., 
WykolT,  Mrs.  S., 
^'c■al•i('k,  Esq.,  H.,    ' 
Yarnell,  George, 
Yerger,  .Jacob, 
Yodi'r,  Jacob, 
Yodcr,  Sanmel, 
Yolm,  .John, 
Yost,  I'^lizabeth, 
Young,  James, 
Young,  Frederick, 
Yming,  John, 
Young,  Maria, 
Youug,  Catherine, 
Young,  Dii  iel 
Young,  Jacob, 


June  12 

1863 

76 

Dec. 

19 

]S(i4 

(!4 

Sept 

21 

l.sii,-, 

(57 

June 

31 

1S72 

84 

Julv 

3 

1873 

81 

Feb. 

15 

1S74 

73 

Nov. 

J 

1874 

40 

Aug. 

13, 

1830 

INIay 

24 

1858 

50 

Aug. 

1", 

1829 

.Julv 

15 

1854 

76 

Jan. 

1 

1872 

68 

Feb. 

16, 

1875 

64 

Apr. 

1821 

Aug. 

13! 

1825 

Mar. 

19, 

1829 

.June 

21, 

1829 

.Jan. 

5, 

1837 

61 

Janj" 

7, 

1868 

60 

Oct. 

18, 

1873 

74 

Oct. 

11, 

1823 

44 

Aug. 

17, 

1875 

77 

Apr. 

15, 

1824 

78 

.July 

0, 

1874 

73 

June 

23, 

1856 

60 

Nov. 

(3, 

1834 

46 

Nov. 

25, 

1847 

81 

Sept. 

15, 

1850 

40 

Jan. 

-1, 

1«51 

76 

xMar. 

1", 

1851 

79 

Apr. 

19, 

1860  20 

Feb. 

1", 

18(52  30 

Apr. 

~, 

18(56 

62 

Nov. 

11, 

18(58 

20 

Jan. 

21, 

1871 

87 

Dec. 

20, 

1871 

73 

Feb. 

4, 

1S72 

63 

Feb. 

1-, 

1875 

78 

May 

6, 

187<) 

(50 

Dec. 

IS, 

1871 

62 

vVug. 

23, 

1853 

52 

Sept. 

2(i, 

1827 

Sept. 

-1, 

1876 

.Jan. 

16, 

1.S76 

76 

.June 

-1, 

1856 

76 

.June 

•5, 

1873 

60 

Jan. 

22 

1870 

72 

Apr. 

11', 

1864 

84 

Mar. 

7, 

1870 

85 

Feb. 

17, 

1871 

85 

Oct. 

5, 

1856 

68 

July 

20, 

1825 

Aug. 

29, 

1.S25 

July 

S, 

1,S40 

Jan. 

", 

1K43 

Aug. 

fi. 

1853 

62 

June; 

4, 

1854 

June 

7, 

1«57 

82 

ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


579 


Young,  William, 
Young,  Mrs.  Marg., 
Young,  Eleanor, 
Young,  Mrs., 
Young,  Adam, 
Young,  Abra.,(B.,) 
Young,  Abraham, 
Young,  Mrs.  Eliza., 
Young,  Mrs.  Ellen, 
Yoiingman,  George, 
Zearfos,  Mrs.  M.  A., 
Zeigler,  Mrs., 


Date  of 
Death. 


Nov. 

May 

Nov. 

Jan. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

May 

July 

Feb. 

May 

Dec. 


20,  1859  73 
3,  1860  62 

17,  1865! 

18,  1866!76 

8,  1872165 
3,  1873176 
13,  1875  90 
22,  I866I42 
18,  1867^47 
6,  1843  79 
18,  1860  i  30 
— ,  18261 


Zellers,  Peter, 
Zellers,  John, 
Zellers,  sr.,  .John, 
Zellers,  Mrs.  Cath., 
Zellers,  Daniel, 
Zellers,  Mrs.  Han., 
Zellers,  Daniel, 
Zellers,  Samuel, 
Zentmyer,  Jacob, 
Zentmyer,  Mrs.  E., 
Ziebach,  Mrs.  Ann, 
Zimmerman,  John, 


Date  of 
Death. 


Jan. 

Aug. 

Nov. 

July 

Nov. 

Feb. 

Oct. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Sept. 

Aug. 


:87 


5,  1822 

1,  1832 

12,  1843 
22,  1850 
30,  1853 
21,  1856 

13,  1865 
3,  1874 
8,  1849 

13,  1863 

2,  1867170 
18,  18251 


;67 


79 


MILITARY  RECORD,  1861-5, 


COMPANY  E,  FIFTY-FIRST  PENNSYLVANIA. 


Ccqitnins. 
G.  H.  Hassenplug, 
William  R.  Forster. 

First  Lieutenants. 
John  A.  Morris, 
Francis  R.  Frey, 

Second  Lieutenants. 

Martin  L.  Schoch, 
James  L.  Seebold, 
George  C.  Gutelius. 

Sergeants. 

John  M.  Wierman, 

Thomas  D.  Reed, 

Elbridge  G.  Maize, 

Charles  Mills, 

Cornelius  Edclman, 

George  Diehl,  discharged,  July  11, 
1865,  for  wounds  received  in  action, 

Lewis  G.  Titus,  died,  January  7, 
1803,  of  wounds  received  at  Fred- 
ericksbvirg,  December  13,  18(Jli. 

Corporals. 

John  II.  Sortman, 

Cyrus  A .  Eaton, 

Peter  Strubble, 

Isaac  Treat, 

Daniel  High, 

Ebert  Sprowles, 

William  Kleckner, 

Isaac;  (J.  Magee, 

Adiini  (iluse, 

Thomas  F.  SoarcOi, 

.lohn  C  Youngman, 

George  W.  I'oote, 

Levi  ir.  Ammon, 

Thomas  S.  Mauck,  died,  Juno  20, 
ISIH,  of  wounds  rcc('i\cd  at  I'cters- 
burg,  X'irgiuia,  buried  in  National 
cenujtery,  Arlington,  Virginia, 

George  M.  Aurand,  kilhui  at  Wel- 
don  railroad,  August  1!»,  18(54, 


.Tames  Luker, 

Charles  D.  Kline,  junior. 

Musician. 
Joseph  A.  Logan. 

Privates. 

Aikey,  Jeremiah,  captured,  died  at 
Andersonville,  Georgia, 

Baker,  Ralston, 

Barklow,  George  E.,  died  at  Browns- 
ville, Mississippi,  July  21,  1803, 

Barnes,  Albert  E., 

Beers,  David  H., 

Bell,  William  H., 

Benfer,  Abraham,  » 

Benner,  A  slier, 

Benner,  Lewis  J., 

Black,  James, 

Blair,  Simon  S., 

liomgaidner,  John, 

]5i)op,  .Ja(;()b, 

Bowers,  George, 

Brouse,  Benjamin  H.,  killed  at  Cam- 
den, North  Carolina,  April  19, 
1862, 

Burk,  George  P., 

Burkhart,  Adolph, 

Burris,  Sanmol, 

Chai^jjcl,  IC/.ra, 

CliamlxTs,  Janu's  M.. 

ChandxTs,  M.  B., 

Claphain,  Thomas  II.,  died,  March 
13,  18(i4. 

Cole,  Luther  G., 

Cornelius,  Janu^s  F. 

Cornelius,  (Jciorge  W., 

Curfman,  Daniel, 

Curtis,  Jeremiah  F., 

Derkes,  John  D., 

Dersham,  Iknrv, 

Dewire,  Alexander, 

Diehl,  Henry  C, 

Dingman,  Abraham, 

Dolbj',  Isaac, 


SSo 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


sSf 


Dolby,  Abraham, 

Donachy,  Thomas, 

Donnison,  Aaron, 

Dunkle,  James  M.,  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June  3,  1864, 

Eidem,  Henry, 

Engle,  Solomon, 

Fetter,  John, 

Fletcher,  Justice  J., 

Fox,  Henry  D., 

Frederick,  Jacob, 

Galloway,  George  W., 

Geniger,  William, 

Gordon,  Jacob, 

Hansen,  David, 

Hanselman,  David, 

Hanselman,  Adam, 

Harris,  Berryhill  B., 

Hassenplug,  John  T., 

Hauley,  Timothy, 

Heckiiian,  Wm.  R., 

Heinbach,  Elias, 

Heitsman,  Isaiah, 

Heitsman,  Jacob, 

Heitsman,  Henry, 

Henderson,  William, 

Hendershot,  Christ, 

Hendricks,  John, 

Hickernell,  Robert,  died  of  wounds 
received  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3, 
1864, 

Hilbish,  Amnion, 

Hoffman,  William  R.,  killed  at  Cam- 
den, North  Carolina,  April-  19, 
1862, 

Hoffman,  Edward  J., 

Hummel,  John, 

Hutchinson,  Henry, 

Irwin,  Robert,  H., 

KellA^  James  T., 

Kennedy,  Barton, 

Kidson,  Francis, 

Kline,  Joel, 

Kline,  Reuben, 

Kline,  Daniel,- 

Kline,  Charles, 

Kline,  Andrew  T., 

Kline,  Jacob  L.,  died  May  6,  1864, 
buried  in  United  States  general 
hospital  cemetery,  Annapolis, 
Maryland, 

Klingier,  John, 

Kunkel,  Samuel, 

Kunkel,  Jonathan, 

Laird,  Samuel  H., 

Laudenslager,  William, 

Leinbach,  William  F.  N., 

Lenhart,  Jolin, 

Lenhart,  David,  killed  near  Peters- 
burg, Virginia,  June  17,  1864, 

Lloyd,  Charles, 


Lloyd,  John, 

Long,  Jacob, 

Lotz,  Galen  N., 

Lytle,  Charles, 

Mc^Grcgor,  Samuel, 

Mttl^'addcn,  Jackson, 

Marsh,  Cliarles  H., 

Masterson,  Ed.  J., 

Meckley,  Alfred,  killed  at  Weldon 

railroad,  August  19,  1864, 
Mertz,  Jacob  K., 
Middaugh,  John  T., 
Miller,  Jacob, 
Miller,  Henry, 
Miller,  James, 
Millhouse,  John, 
Moll,  Joseph  A., 
Mullen,  Arthur, 
Myers,  Daniel, 
Norton,  Henry  M., 
Orwig,  William  P., 
Orwig,  John  W., 
Paul,  Peter  (}., 
Post,  Victor  E., 
Radenbaugh,  Jeremiah, 
Rahback.  John, 
Reed,  Martin  G., 
Renner,  Levi, 
Reese,  Jonatlian, 
Rote,  Joel, 
Rote,  Samuel, 
Rule,  John  V., 
Sassman,  Emanuel, 
Sassman,  Noah  W., 
Searles,  Sebastian, 
Seebold,  George  A., 
Seebold,    Castor,  died  at  Pliiladel- 

phia,  Pennsvlvania,  May  11,  1864, 
Schatiie,  Frank  S., 
Schnure,  George, 
Sclmure,  Williani, 
Shaffer,  Anthony, 
Sheckler,  John  W., 
Sheary,  Samuel  F., 
Shrertier,  Joseph, 
Shriner,  Josiah, 
Sholley,  William  S., 
Simmons,  Thomas, 
Smith,  Albert  E., 
Snyder,  Henry, 
Snyder,  Jonathan, 
Speese,  Daniel, 
Stitzer,  John  T., 
Toland,  Robert, 
Trainer,  Cliarles  H., 
Tucker,  Samuel, 
Watson,  William  S.,  ' 

Weaver,  Jolm  D., 
Webb,  William,  . 

Wilson,  Charles, 
Wirt,  Andrew  G., 


S82 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Wirt,  George  W.,  died  at  Lexington,  11  Woodward,  C.  W., 

Kentucky,  September  15,  1803,         1  Zechman,  Melanc'n, 
Wolfinger,  Joseph,  Zimmerman,  William, 


COMPANY  H,  FIFTY-FIRST  PENNSYLVANIA. 


Captains. 
.7.  Merrill  Linn, 
George  Shorkley. 

F'irst  Lieutenants. 
J.  Gilbert  Beaver,  killed  at  Antie- 

tam,  September  17,  1802, 
Hugh  McClure. 

Second  Lieutenants. 
Aaron  Smith, 
Jacob  H.  Santo, 
David  C.  Brewer. 

Fir  tit  Sergeant. 
Jacob  Nvhart. 

Sergeants. 
Matthe\\-  Vandine,  killed  at  Antie- 

tain,  Sc])tember  17,  1802, 
George  Breon, 
Seth  J.  Housel, 
Harrison  Hause, 
Frederick  Erwine, 
George  W.  Brown, 
John  Aldenderfer, 
James  Kincaid, 
Daniel  M.  Wetzell, 
William  Allison,  killed  at  Fredricks- 

burg,  December  13,  18(52. 

Corporals. 
H.  J.  Lingerman, 
John  Grambling, 
Alfred  Durst, 
George  H  Kauff. 
Henry  Fogleman, 
Michael  Lepley, 
Andrew  Knepp, 
R,  A.  M.  Harner, 
H.  C.  McCormick, 
Henry  B.  Wetzell, 
Reuben  Baker, 
Peter  Koser, 
Nicholas  Nichols, 
Robert  Henry, 
H.  Co'y  McCormick, 
John  Q.  Adams, 
Charles  Merrill, 
James  L.  Schooly, 
Deitrich  Beck  man, 
J.  Baclicnliaiiier, 
Henry  J.  Warner. 


Musicians. 
Jacob  Moore, 
Charles  P.  McFadden, 
Andrew  Bernade. 

Privates. 
Allshouse,  Peter, 
Angstadt,  Jonas, 
Angstadt,  Mabury, 
Armpriester,  William, 
Auchenbaugh,  William, 
Ayers,  James, 
Baldwin,  Eleazer, 
Bastian,  Peter, 
Bastian,  Abraham, 
Bear,  Edward,  killed  at  Antietan* 
Beeber,  Henry, 
Beehn,  Henry  A., 
Beck,  Isaac,  killed  at  Antietam, 
Benner,  Lewis  J., 
Bennett,  Miles, 
Berkeville,  Daniel, 
Blunt,  James, 
Brensinger,  Levi, 
Britton,  Simon, 
Brown,  Asa, 
Brownfield,  John, 
Bobst,  David, 
Boon,  Daniel, 
Bower,  Harrison, 
Bomgardner,  Daniel, 
Bordmel,  Daniel  C, 
Boyer,  Jolin, 
Boyer,  William, 
Buskirk,  Jacob, 
Carey,  George  W., 
Casseck,  Northell, 
Chriesher,  William  F., 
Cliristv,  James, 
Clark,'  David, 
Cor],  John, 
Dawson,  John  L., 
D('l)ilzon,  John  S., 
Dehaven,  Rtuiben, 
Dillsplains.  Mahl'n, 
Dopp.  J.  Peter, 
Dougherty,  John, 
Douglicrt\-,  James, 
Douty,  William  H.,  killed  at  Knox- 

ville,    Tennessee    November    29, 

1803, 
Doyle,  :^^attllew, 
Doyle,  James, 
Dumheller,  Abner, 


AANALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


583 


Dysher,  Mathias, 

Dye,  Richard, 

Eardlv,  John  W.,  killed  at  North 
Anna,  May  27,  18G4, 

Eglof,  Samuel, 

Ervine,  Frederick, 

Espenship,  David, 

Everlv,  Andrew  F., 

Everett,  William, 

Farley,  Samuel,  died  at  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  December  19,  1863, 

Fewring,  Ueorge, 

Fies,  Henry, 

Fike,  John, 

Foote,  John  W., 

Fox,  William  H.  R., 

Frederick,  Ebenezer, 

Frynte,  George  H., 

Gallagher,  William, 

Gardner,  William, 

Getty,  David  H., 

Goss,  Simon, 

Grier,  Thomas  G.,  died  at  Moore- 
head  City,  North  Carolina.  October 
6,  18()4,  ' 

Haas,  William, 

Hain,  Henry, 

Hain,  John, 

Harding,  Jarrett  S., 

Harris,  "Joseph, 

Hartline,  Daniel, 

Hartline,  David, 

Hefner,  Jonathan, 

Hefflefinger,  George, 

Henry,  Adam, 

Hertzog,  Emanuel, 

Heitsman,  Isaiah, 

Hoffman,  Thomas, 

Holen,  Thomas, 

Holslander,  George  F., 

Humphrey,  John, 

Ingerson,  Hillman, 

Jones,  Thomas, 

Keffer,  Henry  J., 

Kelly,  James  S., 

Kelly,  James  A., 

Kneph,  Simon, 

Knode,  Albion  G., 

Kyseraski,  Joseph, 

Lattimer,  William  J., 

Leamon,  John  E., 

Leinbach,  Calvin  L., 

Lenig,  Jacob, 

Leplev,  William, 

Lott,  John  W., 

Lyon,  Conrad, 

McMurtrie,  Isaac, 

McEvven,  Samuel  S., 

Marks,  Levi, 

Marr,  Thomas  P., 

Mease,  George, 


Miller,  John, 

Miller,  Samuel  S., 

Miller,  Daniel  I., 

Miller,  Jeremiah, 

Miller,  William  A., 

Miller,  Henry, 

Moclierman,  John  H., 

Moll,  Joseph  A., 

Moore,  John, 

Moyer,  Daniel  B., 

Mo3^er,  Daniel, 

Murphy,  John, 

Murpliy,  Joseph, 

Myers, "William  H., 

Nainan,  John  A., 

Oaks,  William  L., 

Pareby,  Joseph, 

Passell,  Robert  W., 

Phleger,  Jacob, 

Phillips,  Abraham  ¥.  C, 

Purcell,  George, 

Ream,  Jacob, 

Rexford,  Henry  E., 

Rhoades,  Jacob, 

Search,  Thomas  F., 

Scales,  Edwin,  (N.  B.,) 

Serwatznes,  Joseph, 

Shaffer,  Lewis  I., 

Shappee,  Dwier, 

Shalley,  William, 

Shriner,  William  H., 

Shreck,  John  V., 

Slottman,  Daniel, 

Smith,  John  F., 

Smith,  John  D., 

Smith,  David, 

Smith,  John,  H., 

Smith,  Jacob, 

Smith,  Isaiah, 

Smith,  Frederick, 

Smith,  Peter,  captured  August  21, 

18(54,  absent  at  muster  out, 
Snyder,  Nathaniel, 
Snvder,  Samuel, 
Steltz  William, 
Steward,  Cliarles  R., 
Sullivan,  Patrick, 
Swab,  William, 
Sv.'averly,  Adam, 
Taylor,  Samuel, 
Turner,  James, 
Wagore,  George, 
Watkins,  Benjamin, 
Weisenbach,  Anthony, 
Weisenbach,  Leo, 
Wellings,  William  J., 
Wentzel,  Jacob, 
Wien,  William, 
Williamson,  Aaron, 
Williamson,  James, 
Williams,  William, 


SS4 


AN.y.lLS   OF  BUFFALO   I'.U.I.FY. 


Wittes,  Isaac,  killed  at  Antietam, 
Woorl,  Aaron  A>, 
Uhl,  ("lirisfian, 
Uinstead,  John  C, 
Updegraph,  Lewis, 


Van-Gezer,  freorge, 
Yodcr,  David, 
Yoiiii<r,  David  I., 
Youngnian,  Jcdin  C, 
Zechnow,  Charles. 


COMPANY  K,   FIFTY-FIRST  PENNSYLVANIA. 

{Tncludintj  only  tliofic  from  Buffalo  Valley  and  vicinity.') 


Captain. 
George  P.  Carman. 

F'irst  LieiitcHants. 
.losiah  Kelly, 
John  B.  Linn. 

/Second  Lieutenant. 
Franklin  Tioale, 
Frank  F.  St(!)-ner,  [)rornoted  captain 

April  K),  lS().l,and  killed  in  action 

May  12,  I8G4. 

iSerijeants. 

L.  J.  Cross^^rove, 

Thoma.s  C.  Pierce,  killed  in  action 
front  Petersburg,  Virginia,  .June 
17,  1864, 

James  Gil)son,  killed  at  Petersburg, 
July  :jo,  isr,4, 

.John  Vaidew. 

Corporals. 

William  IJuoy,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Cold  Harbor,  Virginia, 

Henry  G.  Dentler,  diedat  Anderson- 
villc,  Georgia,  Mav  17, 1HI>4 — grave 
1,I<H, 

Edward  Held, 

Thomas  J.  Arljucjklf!,  died  in  cap- 
tivity, 

Nathan  M.  Hann. 

Musician. 
Montgomery  8.  Adams. 
Privates. 
Aikey,  Lewis, 
Aikoy,  Ze(!hariah, 
All(!n,  Benjamin, 
Bastian,  (U'A>ry:,(i  W., 
Babcock,  Joseph, 
lialdwin,  Aljsalom,  died  at  Ander- 

sonville,   Georgia,  September  24, 

1864, 
Barnliart,  James, 
Jiently,  Franklin, 
Bfirryman,  Ricihard, 
Betwr,  Jolm, 
Benfer,  David, 
Bower,  William  D., 
Bratton,  Philil.  H., 


Cole,  Christopher  E., 

Cox,  .John  F., 

Crites,  Kremer, 

Crossgrove,  Samuel, 

Dcpo,  Thomas, 

Docbler,  Alexander,  taken  prisoner 

May  27,  18fi4, 
Duck,  Franklin  F.,  died  in  captivity, 
Dull,  George,   died  at  Alexandria, 

Virginia,     Sei^tember    19,    18(34 — 

grave  2,083, 
Fangboner,  .John, 
Foster,  Tliomas,  killed  at  Weldon 

railroad,  August  10,  ]8f)4, 
Garrett,    James,    fiaptured,   died   at 

Andersonvillc,  Georgia,  August  19, 

18(54— grave  (5, 140, 
Geddes,  .John, 
Gii't,  Jonathan  J., 
Hanselinati,  I'eter, 
Harris,  Jolm,  killed  June  17,  1804, 
Henry,  Isaiah, 

Hoover,  Dani(!l,  died  June  27,  1804, 
Hoover,  Cliarles,  died  at  New  York 

eity,  November  12,  18(j4, 
Houtz,  Hen IV, 
Hudman,  John, 
I^udwig,  .Jarad, 
Mcl',ride,  Paul  M., 
iMaei)lierson,  .lolm, 
^lann,  Philip,  J., 
Marr,  James, 
Mevlert,  William  S., 
Mills,  David, 
Moorc!,  ,Jos(!ph  G., 
Ocker,  David  (;., 
Poeth,  Joseph  G., 
Rank,  Benjamin,  wounded  at  Cold 

Harbor, 
Rank,  Samuel, 
Rank,  John,  died  of  wounds  received. 

in  battle  at  Spottsylvania, 
Refuse,  John, 
Rei(;lily,  David, 
Reirdiart,  Nicholas, 
Reish,  Solomon,  caj)tured  at  Weldon 

railroad, 
Richards,  Fdward,  died  September 

10,  1804,  of  wounds. 
Rider,  Benjamin, 
Riefsnyder,  William, 


I 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


585 


Rover,  Samuel, 

Sarvis  Joseph, 

Souders,  Epliraim, 

Search,  William, 

Shaffer,  Thomas, 

Sherry,  George  H., 

Shiers,  jSIifhael, 

Shilling,  Alfred,  wounded  at  Wil- 
derness, May  (5,  ISfU, 

Shingle,  David,  killed  at  Cold  Har- 
Ijor,  Virginia,  June  3,  1804, 

Showers,  Henry  C, 

Stees,  David  f'., 

Stuttsman,  William  M., 

Summers,  Oliver, 


Royer,  Samuel, 

Roush,  Benjamin, 

Terry,  George  W., 

Treaster,  Henrv, 

Truitt,  William  M., 

Turner,  Lvman  B., 

Watts,  John, 

Wei(h'l],  John,  died,  October  2C.,  1864, 
of  wounds  received  at  Cold  Harbor, 
June  8,  18f)4,  buried  in  National 
cemetery,  Arlington,  Virginia, 

Wertz,  Robert, 

Winegardner,  John,  wounded  in 
action,  June  6,  1804. 

Yearick,  Tobias. 


COMPANY  D,  FIFTY-SECOND  REGIMENT. 


CUiptainn. 
James  Chamberlin,   resigned    May 

11,  1803, 
Samuel  Cuskaden. 

First  Lieutenant. 
J.  P.  S.  Weidensaul. 

Second  lAe.utenants. 
Aaron  Stouirhton, 
William  Phillips. 

Serrjeants. 
George  W.  Scott,  died  from  wounds 

received  at  James  Island,  South 

Carolina,  July  3,  1864, 
Edward  Zechman, 
Lot  Trate, 
Jacob  Fetter, 
William  J.  P^vans, 
Jacob  Getter. 
Joseph  H.  Pardoe, 
Michael  Flaherty, 
Samuel  Clialfant, 
W^illiam  Richardson, 
William  Connelly, 
Jose])li  R.  Ilousel, 
B.  F.  Machamer, 
.Jolin  McPherson, 
William  A.  Sober, 
James  McBride,  died  at   Wa.shing- 

ton,  D.  C. 

Corporals. 
.loseph  McCracken, 
Thomas  Mackej^ 
Enoch  Rice, 
Martin  Young, 
.lohn  Tambler, 
.James  Campbell, 
.John  I^eidabeck, 
EliasK.  Foust, 
Patrick  Kearney, 


Peter  Sheddel, 

Abraham  Kauffman, 

Alexander  .1.  Sober, 

Saiinid  Herman, 

Samuel  Dolby, 

I.  Dunkleberger,  died  June  4,  1862, 
of  wounds, 

Charles  A.  Pennv,  died  at  Cranev 
Island,  Virginia,  Sept.  25,  1862, 

<Totlieb  Smaltzried,  died  at  Morris 
Island,  South  Carolina,  Septem- 
ber 6,  1863. 

Musicians. 
Henry    Gallagher,    died    at    White 

House,  Virginia,  June  15, 1862, 
Charles  McGregor. 

Privates. 

Aljle,  .John,  died  at  Annapolis,  Ma- 
ryland, December  21,  18(J4, 

Baker,  Peter, 

Barker,  Henrv, 

Balliett,  John, 

Bennett,  William  H., 

Berkhiser.  Isaac, 

Blake,  Christopher, 

Blake,  James, 

Bower,  Wilson  M., 

Bowers,  James, 

Brocius,  Gideon, 

Buck,  Frederick, 

Burris,  Henry  H., 

Callahan,  Michael,  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Georgia,  September  27, 
1864—9,880, 

Carey,  Archibald,  died  at  Florence, 
Soiith  Carolina,  November26, 1864, 

Chalfant,  Sanniel, 

Chapj)ell,  Ira, 

Chappeil,  George, 

Cogin,  John, 


586 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Cornelison,  John  R., 

Cornelius,  Jackson, 

Collins,  Geor<j;e, 

Court wristht,  P.  W.,  died  at  Hilton 

Head,   South  Carolina,   June    13, 

18(54, 
Banner,  Samuel, 
Danney,  William,  died  at  Florence, 

South  Carolina,  December  10, 1864, 
Dailey,  Jolm, 
Donachy,  John, 
Dojde,  John, 
Doyle,  Thomas, 
Duck,  Daniel,  killed  at  Fair  Oaks, 

May  31,  1862, 
Duryea,  James, 
Emerick,  Philip, 
Evans,  Richard, 
Fadden,  James, 
Fenstermacher,  James, 
Fertig,  John, 
Fisher,  Peter, 
Foulds,  Richard, 
Gahring,  Charles,  died  at  Florence, 

South  Carolina,  October  18,  1864, 
Geiger,  Lewis, 
Gordon,  George, 
Greiger,  Jacob, 
Grey,  William, 
Gross,  Joseph,  died  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  June  19,  1862, 
Gunn,  Jeremiah, 
Gooden,  George, 
Hall,  Henry, 
Hankey,  John, 
Hankey,  Frank, 
Heaton,  John, 
Heimbach,  Benjamin  F., 
Heller,  Jeremiah, 
Helwicik,  Andrew, 
Hensyl,  Lot, 
Houtz,  Austin  S., 
Huttbrd,  Lewis, 
Hunter,  John, 
Irving,  AVjram  A., 
Jameson,  Henry, 
Jarrett,  Franklin, 
Jones,  Daniel, 
Kinii(;y,  John, 
KiiU(;r,  Maurice, 
Kirsch,  J'-rederick, 
Krider,  Jacob, 
K rider,  Daniel, 
Kauffman,  Ab., 
Kearney,  Patrick, 
Lemoreaux,  O.  XL, 
Lenhart,  Henry, 
Lennard,  James, 
Livengood,  Al)raliam, 
Loch,  Samuel, 
Long,  Zephaniah, 


Long,  Charles, 

Long,  John  F., 

Long,  Isaac, 

Lupoid,   Jeremiah,   killed    at  Fort 

Henry,  Tennessee,  April  2,  1862, 
MiHTannel,  Edward,    killed  at  Fair 

Oaks,  INIay  31,  1862, 
Martin,  William, 
Martin,  David, 
^Sfessersmitli,  Jeremiah, 
Miller,  William, 
Miller,  Anizi  W.,  died  at  Anderson- 

vUle,  Georgia,  October  1,  1864, 
Minnier,  Sanniel, 
Moran,  Patriek, 
iSIorrison,  Michael, 
Mover,  Benjamin  F.,  killed   at  Fair 

daks.  May  31,  1862, 
^Nlussleman,  John,  died  at  Yorktown, 

Virginia,  November  27,  1862, 
Musser,  John, 
Nagle,  Samuel, 
Neifert,  Henry,  , 

O'Gara,  Dominick, 
Olby,  William  L., 
Ott,  Samuel, 
Owens,  John  H., 
Pell,   Benjamin,   died  at  Florence, 

South  Carolina,  October  21,  1864, 
Poeth,  Henry  C, 
Poole,  Josiah,  died  Septeniber  23, 

1864,  buried  in  Cypress  Hill  ceme- 

try.  Long  Island, 
Poole,   Gilbert,    captured,   died     in 

Florence,  South  Carolina,  August 

22,   1864, 
Price,  William, 
Pifer,  Elias  F., 
Phillips,  William, 
Pardoe,  Josepli  H., 
Rahmer,  Charles, 
Ransom,  Thomas  D., 
Reed,    Sanuiol,  died   July    1864,   of 

wounds  received  at  Fort  Johnson, 

South  <'ar<)lina, 
Renuey,  James  B.,  died  at  Yorktown, 

A'irginia,  December  17,  1862, 
Ri(!hard,  Cliarles, 
Richley,  Frederick, 
Rorabsich,  Henry, 
Rutloss,  Moritz  "C, 
Saunders,  Sanniel, 
Sheibelhood,  Joseph, 
Smith,  William  TL, 
S]K'cht,  Michael,  died  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  June  24,  1862,  of  wounds 

received   at   Fair  Oaks,  Virginia, 

May  31,  1862, 
Springer,  Jose])h, 
Soi)er,  Salatliiel,  killed  at  Fair  Oaks, 

May  31,  1862, 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


587 


vSober,  Aaron, 

Staples,  Nelson,   captured,   died  at 

Florence,  South  Carolina,  October 

20,  1S(j4, 
Stapleton,  Franklin, 
Stetler,  Charles, 
Souder,  Henry  J.,  died  at  Florence, 

South  Carolina,  October  20,  1864, 
Trutt,  David, 
Vertz,  George  W., 
Wagner,  Josiah, 
Warner,  Gideon,  died  at  Florence, 

South  Carolina,  October  1,  1S64, 


Wertz,  Thomas, 

Wheat,  John, 

Wheeler,  Walter, 

Williams,  Philip, 

Willis,  David,  died  at  Morris  Island, 

South  Carolina,  August  31,  18(54, 
Wilson,  John, 
''.\'()iucls(l(irt',  J., 
Woodward,  G.  W., 
Wright,  Franklin, 
Wright,  Charles, 
Zeilers.    John,    died    at    Florence, 

South  Carolina,  October  1,  1864. 


COMPANY  E,  FIFTY- THIRD  REGIMENT. 

{Including  07ily  tliose  from  Buffalo  Valley  and  vicinity.) 


Captains. 
Thomas  Church, 
Beacli  C.  xVmmons, 
Daniel  Artman. 

First  Lieutenant. 
Henry  F.  Menges. 

Second  Lieutenant. 
Albert  H.  Hess. 

First  Sergeant. 
John  R.  Smith. 

Sergeants. 
William  Ulrich, 
Joseph  Hartley, 
David  Davis, 
John  INIilsom. 

Cor2yorals. 
Williain  Parry, 
James  Harvey, 
Archibald  McPherson, 
William  Byrne, 
Ezekiel  Gilham, 
John  McCollum, 
William  Tovy. 

Afusicians. 
Jacob  Bingaman, 
Daniel  Bingaman. 

Tea7nster. 
David  Kohlen. 


Privates. 
Bingaman,  Daniel  J., 
Bingaman,  James,   died  at  Annapo- 
lis, Maryland,  December  20,  1864, 
Buoy,  Sylvester, 
Cushion,  John, 
Davis,  Thomas, 
Davis,  .lob, 
Dicldson,  Samuel, 
Drum,  William, 
Getz,  George, 
Hancock,  Richard, 
Hancock,  William, 
Hayden,  James, 
Heinback,  George, 
Hess,  Isaac, 
Hess,  Francis, 
Kaler,  Jefferson, 
McCollum,  William, 
McPherson,  .John, 
Marsh,  Charles  P., 
Oldtield,  John, 
Price,  John, 
Rearick,  Oliver,  P., 
Sergeant,  William, 
Slay  man,  Russel, 
Snyder,  Samuel, 
Stevens,  William, 
Thomas,  William  H., 
Tow,  Daniel, 
Ulrich,  r]isle, 
Walters,  Henrv,  C, 
Wiehr,  David  M.  L. 


COMPAISY  A,  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-FIRST  REGIMENT. 


Caj}  tains. 
Jacob  Moyer, 
Joseph  R.  Orwig. 

First  Lieutenant. 
Joseph  William  Kepler. 


Second  Lieutenant. 
William  Fitchthorn. 

Sergeants. 
Albert  Barnes, 
Forster  Halfpenny, 


588 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Isaac  Treat, 
Josiah  Shriller, 
Henry  Rotheniial. 

Corporals. 
George  W.  Fiester, 
Charles  Wurman, 
Jacob  Hower, 
Harrison  Hafer, 
Sanutel  S.  Smith, 
William  H.  Weirick, 
Joel  Kline, 
Henry  Phillips, 
Nathaniel  W.  Strahan. 

^^usicinn. 

James  Forrest. 

Privates. 

Aikey,  William  Henry,  killed  at 
Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  Decem- 
ber 13,  18i)2, 

Burkholder,  William, 

Burkholder,  Lewis, 

Burkenstock,  H., 

Brant,  Henry, 

Baldwin,  Absalom, 

Brocius,  Isaac, 

Bordner,  William, 

C'aulitlower,  William, 

Charles,  Sturger, 

Collins,  Peter, 

Cornelius,  Washington, 

Crisswell,  William, 

Dennis,  Phares, 

Devine,  Peter, 

Diehl,  Henrv  Calvin, 

Dollard,  William, 

Dresher,  William, 

Fiester,  John  Uhl, 

Foltz,  Martin, 

Foster,  Andrew, 

Glover,  John  W., 

Grove,  G.  Sanuu'l, 

Hansel  man,  David, 

Harris,  John, 

Hartley.  Flias, 

Hayes,  James  C, 

Henry,  William  G., 

Hull',  (ieorge, 

Hull",  John, 


Hultsizer,  Jesse,  died  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  November  10,  18(52. 

Katherman,  Joseph, 

Katherman,  Isaiah, 

Kline,  Charles, 

Kline,  George. 

Kline,  Henry  Charles, 

Laird,  Samuel  H., 

Lashells,  George  W.,  killed  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Virginia,  December 
13,  1862. 

Lenhart,  David, 

Leib,  Emanuel, 

Ludwig,  George, 

McPlierson,  Archibald, 

Markle,  John, 

Maxwell,  Archibald, 

Meyers,  Daniel  B., 

Miller,  Harry, 

Moyer,  George  W., 

Newman,  Lewis, 

Rarer,  ilohn. 

Reed,  G.  Thompson, 

Reed,  .John, 

Riitliards,  Cliristian, 

IvDrahaugh,  .lames  A., 

Russman,  William, 

Rote,  Joseph, 

Sanders,  George  L., 

Schnee,  Peter, 

Schuck,  Thomiis  L., 

Shalfer,  Milton, 

Showalter,  Samuel, 

Smith,  Svlvester, 

Snyder.  William  A., 

Snyder,  William  W., 

Sny.der,  Emanuel,  killed  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Virginia,  December 
13,  1862, 

Solomon,  Henry  C, 

Sommers,  .Jeremiah, 

Sommers,  Oliver, 

Stees,  Henry  Georj^e,  killed  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Virgmia,  Dec.  13, 1862. 

Swartz,  .John, 

Tavlor.  William  A., 

Wertz,  William, 

Wilson,  Frank, 

Winegarden,  .J.  A., 

Wise,  Cliarles, 

Zechman,  M.  Calvin. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


In   Battery    E,    First    Artillery — 

Forty-third  lieniment. 
Captain  Thomas  G.  Orwig". 
First  Lieutenant  Jienj.  M.  Orwig. 

In  Compa7ty  F,  One  Jlmidred  and 

Thirteenth —  Twelfth  Cavalry. 
First  Lieutenant  David  A.  Irwin. 


E.   Gu- 


Second  Lieutenant  Henry 
telius. 


Company   F,   Fifty-sixth    Pejinsyl- 

vaiiia. 
Soond  Lieutenant  George  W.  Guil- 
diu. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


589 


COMPANY  E,  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY-SECOND  REGIMENT. 


Captains. 
John  A.  Owens, 
Charles  R.  Evans. 

F'irst  Lieutenants. 
Andrew  G.  Tucker,  died  July  5,  of 

wounds  received   at  Gettysburg, 

July  1,  18(i3. 
Isaac  S.  Kerstetter. 

Sergeants. 
Scott  Clingan, 
Alfred  Hayes, 
Samuel  Brown, 
John  V.  Miller, 
Reuben  B.  Fessler, 
Thomas  P.  Wagner, 
Thomas  R.  Orwig,  died  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  November  30,  1862. 
< 
Corporals. 

Isaac  J.  Kerstetter, 

Isaac  F.  Brown, 

John  Gellinger, 

Benjamin  W.  Minium, 

Henry  C.  Penny, 

JohuH.  Martin, 

William  Keifer, 

Nathaniel  Strahan, 

Henry  M.  Specht, 

Jacob  H.  Ranlv,  died,  June  1,  of 
wounds  received  at  Spottsylvania 
Court  House,  Virginia,  May  12, 
1864. 

Samuel  Mover,  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia,  December  13,  1862. 

Musicians. 

William  Geibel, 

Hunter  B.  Barton. 

rrivates. 

Amnion,  William  L., 

Armagast,  Peter,  killed  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Virginia,  December  13, 
1862, 

Baker,  George, 

Boope,  George  E., 

Boyer,  SoloniDii, 

Cami^bell,  Reuben, 

Deibert,  John  P.,  killed  at  Catiett's 
Station.  Virginia,  November  30, 
1863, 

Dellinger,  John  S.,  killed  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Virginia,  December  13, 
1862, 

Donachy,  William  L., 

Fangboner,  Theodore, 

Farley,  John, 

Fees,  David, 


Fetter,  David,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862, 

Fetter,  Adam, 

Fullmer,  William  H., 

Gellinger,  Jackson, 

Gilboney,  .lacob  B., 

Gundy,  James  P., 

Hartman,  Har'n  R., 

Holiman,  Noah, 

Hoffman,  John, 

Hoffman,  Henry  W., 

Hoffman,  Solomon  B., 

Houghton,  Thomas, 

Jamison,  David,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862, 

Kline,  John,  died  of  wounds  receiv- 
ed at  Wilderness,  Virginia,  Mav 
6,  1864j 

Kling,  John,  died  at  Acquia  creek, 
January  22,  1863, 

Koser,  William,  died  at  Warren- 
ton,  Virginia,  November,  1862, 

Koser,  Uriali, 

LeFevre,  Frank  P., 

Lenhart,  Jacob, 

McBride,  Daniel, 

Marr,  James, 

Martin,  Henry,  died  at  Sharpsburg, 
Maryland,  "November  24,  1862, 
buried  in  National  cemetery,  An- 
tietam — section  26,  lot  B,  grave  224, 

Martin,  Daniel,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862, 

Minium,  John  A., 

Morris,  A.  Judson, 

Moser,  Jacob,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Virginia,  June  1,  1864, 

Moser,  Jeremiah,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862, 

Moyer,  John  N., 

Moyer,  Levi  H.,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862, 

Pontius,  Henry  B., 

Raboss,  John, 

Raboss,  Henrv,  killed,  March  24, 
1865, 

Rank,  Samuel, 

Reichley,  George, 

Reish,  George, 

Renner,  William,  L., 

Renner,  Levi,  died  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  Febuary  23,  1863,  of 
wounds  received  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia,  December  13,  1862, 


S^o 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Root,  David,  died  at  Gettysburg. 
Pennsylvania,  July  3,  1863^ 

Sechler,"Williani  R.^ 

Shatter,  Jeremiah, 

Shields,  William, 

Showalter,  Jolin  W., 

Smith,  Henry  M., 

Smith,  Henry  C, 

Smith,  iSIichael, 

Sraham,  James  C, 

Sortman,  Daniel, 

Stapleton,  George,  died,  July  26,  of 
wounds  received  at  Gettysburg, 
Pennsylvania,  July  1,  18(53^ 

Stein nietz,  Philip, 


Stettler,  Henrj^,  died  at  Wasliing- 
ton,  D.  C,  October  12,  1862,  burial 
record,  October  7,  1864,  buried  in 
Military  Asylum  cemetery, 

Stitzer,  Samuel,  died  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  May  30,  of  wounds  i-cccivcd 
at  North  Anna  river,  Virginia,  Maj' 
23,  1864,  buried  in  National  ceme- 
tery, Arlington, 

Stuck,  Henry,  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
December  13,  1862, 

Wilson,  Robert  M., 

M^olfe,  Emanuel, 

Wolfe,  William  H., 

Wvnn,  Thomas. 


COMPANY  D,  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  REGIMENT. 


Cajitains. 
Henrv  W.  Crotzer, 
William  P.  Dougal, 
Roland  Stoughton,  died  ^Nlay  27,  of 

wounds  received  at   Wilderness, 

Virginia,  May  5,  1864, 
John  H.  Harter, 
S.  H.  Himmelwright. 

First  Lieutenant. 
John  A.  Hauck. 

Second  Lieutenants. 
Samuel  G.  Gutelius, 
James  Cummings. 

Ser-ffeants. 
Sainuel  C.  Ranson, 
Samuel  Kerstetter, 
James  W.  Marsliall, 
Charles  A.  Fre}', 
John  Stennert, 

KUiMi  B.  Weidensaul,  killed  at  Get- 
tysburg, July  1,  1863. 

Corporals. 

Albert  Forster, 

Howard  Ritter, ' 

Samuel  lUild, 

Amos  Rrowand, 

William  Kbcrhart. 

(rcorge  Ij.  Murray, 

John  Donacliv, 

John  M.  Iluift, 

(ireorge  W.  I'.arkdoll, 

William  E.  H(Minings,  killed  at 
Gettysburg,  Julv  1,  1x63, 

Josepli  15.  Kuhl,' killed  at  Gettys- 
burg, July  1,  ls(;;>,j 

Willijun  Donac^hv,  killed  at  Laurel 
Hill,  Virginia,  iSray8,  1864, 


Ephraim  Campbell,  died  at  Wash- 
ington. D.  C,  November  10,  1864, 

Josej^h  J.  Gutelius,  killed  at  Get- 
tysburg, July  1,  1863. 

Musician. 
Abraham  Ivuhn,diedat  Washington, 
D.  C,  December  21,  1862. 

Privates. 

Ammon,  Aaron, 

Bird,  John  S., 

Breyman,  Mahlon, 

Browand,  Hesnry, 

Brian,  Michael, 

Bo3'er,  .lacob, 

Buoj',  Charles  S., 

Chambers  James  M., 

Deal,  Adam, 

Deal,  Henrj', 

Deal,  .John,  died  of  wounds  received 
at  Hatcher's  Run,  Virginia,  Feb- 
ruary 5,  18()5, 

Eberhart,  Abraham, 

Eberhart,  .Tames, 

Eisenhaur,  Isiiac, 

Erdey,  Simon, 

Fees,'  Henry  A.,  killed  at  Gettys- 
burg, July  1,  1863. 

Fillman,  Jacob, 

Foust,  Simon  E., 

Fox,  John  F., 

Garrett,  Edward, 

Grove,  Peter, 

Gutelius,  Fisher, 

Gutelius,  Charles  H., 

Haf'cr,  .John, 

Hasscnphig,  S.  F., 

Hauck,  Annnon  L., 

Ilottnuister,  B., 

Hottenstein,  D.  R., 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


59' 


Hursh,  William, 

Kaler,  John, 

Keifer,  Henry  M., 

Knittle,  James, 

Lashells,  Wilson, 

Linn,  Isaac, 

Linn,  Abraliam,  died  at  Wasliing- 
ton,  D.  C,  November  10,  1862, 

Tjucas,  James,  killed  at  Wilderness, 
Virginia,  May  7,  186-1, 

McFadden,  E.  A.,  killed  at  Gettj^s- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  July  1,  1863, 

Mader,  Charles  E., 

Malehom,  Simon, 

Master,  Henrv, 

May,  John,  killed  at  Gettysburg, 
July,  1,  1863, 

Miller,  William  R..  killed  at  Gettys- 
burg, July  1,  1868, 

Xagle,  Samuel, 

Neese,  Jacob, 

Oberdorf,  George  F., 

Paige,  David, 


Paul,  Samuel  W., 

Pick,  Nathan, 

Putzman,  Jacob  D., 

Reedy,  Joel, 

Sarba,  John, 

Seamen,  Jonathan, 

Sedam,  John,  died  at  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, January  2,  1864. 

ShalFer,  Edwin,  died  at  Elmira, 
New  York,  March,  22,  1865. 

Shell,  Jacob, 

Smith,  Hiram, 

Stahl,  Peter  S., 

Stable,  William, 

Stitzer,  William, 

Stoutz,  Milton  J., 

Trout  Frank  F., 

Wirth,  Calvin, 

Wittenimer,  Henrj', 

Weiser,  George  W., 

Wolfe  John, 

Zellers,  Isaac. 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY-FOURTH  REGIMENT. 


TJeut.  Colonel  Cliarles  Kleckner, 
George  W.  Kleckner,  Com.  Sergt., 
Charles  E.  Haus,  Sec.  Lieut.  Co.  I, 


Corporal  John  L.  Strong, 
Charles  Crotzer. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  REGIMENT,  EMERGENCY  TROOPS. 


Field  and  Staff. 

Colonel  James  Chamberlin, 
Lieut.  Colonel  John  McCleery, 
Quatermaster  Thompson  G.  Evans, 
Surgeon  George  Lotz, 
Quar.  Sergeant  Samuel  H.  Orwig, 

Company  A. 

Captain  Thomas  R.  Jones, 
First  Lieutenant  David  M.  Nesbit, 
Second  Lieut.  Charles  S.  James, 
First  Sergeant  Owen  P.  Eaches. 
Sergeant  Benjamin  F.  Cox, 
"        .John  B.  Hu-tton, 
"        Ross  Ward, 
"        Robert  A.  Townsend. 
Corporal  .John  G.  Blair, 
"        John  Ritner, 
"        David  McDermond, 
"        Josei^h  R.  Frederick, 
"        Henry  H.  Witmer, 
"        Harrison  B.  Garner, 
"        Joseph  H.  Shepperd, 
Henry  C.  Wolf. 
Musician  Frederick  E.  Bower, 
"        George  D.  Kincade, 


Privates. 
Barnhart,  Daniel  W., 
Bobb,  Peter  G., 
Brensinger,  George  J., 
Bowman.  George, 
Case,  William  W., 
Cook,  jr.,  Asher, 
Curtis,  John  W., 
Colvert,  Edwin, 
Donachy,  John  A., 
Derr,  Frank  C, 
Fegley,  George, 
Gebhart,  David, 
Gessler,  Theodore  A.  K. 
Giddings,  Nathaniel, 
Gill,  Thomas  A., 
Grier,  Henry  F., 
Hall,  George  C, 
Hess,  .Jacob  W., 
Hill,  Eleazer  E., 
Hutson,  .John  S., 
Henderson,  Henrj' .!., 
.James,  Jacob  D., 
.Johnson,  Jesse  Z., 
Krape,  Antis, 
Leas,  David  P., 
Lotz,  Galen  H., 


I 


59^ 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Loomis,  Freeman, 
Low,  Clement  B., 
Leiubach,  James  C, 
Martz,  (Icorire  O., 
Maul,  Webster  K., 
Mettler,  Charles  W., 
Mvinro,  Henry  C., 
Overholt,  John  J., 
Pliillips,  Tliomas  E., 
Probasco,  John  B., 
Read,  David  E., 
Read,  Jesse  J., 
Read,  Oliver  J., 
Ranney,  l"3dwin  H., 
Runvan,  William  H., 
Spratt,  Orlando  W., 
Stephens,  Leroy, 
Shanafelt,  Thomas  W., 
Stone,  Charles  A., 
Schwartz,  John  J.  W., 
Startzle,  1^'raiilvlin  P., 
Shatfer,  Edward  H., 
Straw,  Robert  C, 
Small,  Tliom;is  J., 
Smith,  Josepli  R., 
Truitt,  jr.,  George  W., 
Vanvalzih,  Robert, 
Winterbottom,  William, 
Wolf,  Jacob  C, 
Wolverton,  William  J., 
Wjain,  Isaac  C, 
Yeager,  Peter. 

Company  D. 

Captain  Charles  C.  Shorkley. 

First  Ijicutenant  Joslah  Kelh'. 

Second  Lieut.  Samuel  D.  Bates, 

First  Sergeant  Samuel  W.  Murray. 

Sergeant  William  L.  Nesbit, 
"         .lacob  Neyhart, 
"         Jacol)  K.  Mertz, 
"        Sylvan  us  (1.  Bennett. 

Corporal  George  W.  Cornelius, 
"        Daniel  Meyers, 
"        William  T.  L(;inbach, 
"         Daniel  Browji, 
"        Thomas  Slioemaker, 
"        George  B.  Miller, 
"        William  M^-ei-s, 
''        Isaac  Wagner. 

Musician  Edward  McGregor. 

Privates. 
Brooks,  David, 
Bay,  l''raiiklin, 
Balis,  Samuel, 
Balliel,  Jolui  W., 
Betzcr,  John  If., 
Burton,  Blight  Henry, 
Crites,  William  K., 
Cornelius,  Edward, 


Cornelius,  Zacheus, 
Chap  pel,  Zacheus, 
Collins,  Peter, 
Cowley,  William  H., 
Dull,  George, 
Dunkle,  Charles  C, 
Donachy,  William  O., 
Donaho'wer,  Franklin, 
Eyer,  .Jolm, 
Frain,  John  A., 
Fornwalt,  John  H., 
Goodman,  Abraham  H., 
Gussler,  Isaiah, 
Giffirt,  Samuel  M., 
Heitsman,  Henry, 
Heitsman,  Jacob, 
Herr,  James  E., 
Howard,  Tliomas, 
Howard,  John, 
Hess,  Jolm  R., 
Irwin,  John  F., 
Kellej^  James  W., 
Loomis,  William  A., 
Lokas,  William, 
Lilley,  Altred, 
Murplu',  Howard  W., 
Murt\',  .James, 
Mvmson,  Salman  D., 
Mowrv,  Abraham, 
Meixeir,  P., 
Meixell,  Ziba, 
Mencii,  .John, 
McFadden,  Theodore,^ 
Penny,  Hugh  H., 
Paul,'  George, 
Pross,  George, 
Pierce,  Amariah  H., 
Reber,  Samuel, 
Rossell,  Williaiu  R., 
Reber,  Edward  M., 
Rearick,  Oliver  P., 
Reed,  I  Foward  W., 
Straub,  I<]lisha, 
SI  iter,  Alfred, 
Stiu^k,  Samuel, 
Sloar,  Jonathan  W., 
Stitzer,  Jolm  I)., 
Solomon,  ('liarles  E., 
Winegarden,  John  A., 
Wetz('l,  Conrad, 
Washcliskci,  William  H., 
Waslieliskci,  <;eorge, 
Williams,  Benjamin  H.. 
Wagner,  Joseph  H., 
Zechman,  George  W., 

f'otivpavy  F. 
Captain  George  W.  Forrest, 
First  Lieutenant  Andrew  H.  Dili 
Second  Ijieutenant  James  Hayes, 
First  Sergeant  David  B.  Nesbit, 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


593 


Sergeant  William  Ginter, 
"        Lorenzo  D.  Brewer, 
"        AdolphusA.  Kaufman, 
"        William  H.  Nesbit. 

CorporalJ.  Henry  Brown, 
"        John  W.  Brown, 
"        Ricliard  Dye, 
*'        Tlieodore  Taylor, 
"        Joseph  M.  Housel, 
"        Samuel  F.  Gundy, 
"        Thomas  Ritner, 
"        Edward  H.  Ricliards. 

Musician  James  Forrest, 
Jacob  H.  Worth. 

Privates. 
Baldwin,  Absalom, 
Beck,  Samuel, 
Bell,  Allen, 
Bently,  Frank, 
Bower,  William  D., 
Brown,  William  F., 
Cathcart,  Robert  M., 
Derr,  George  P., 
Dotts,  David  H., 
Dill,  M.  Reese, 


Dolby,  Abraham, 
Donachy,  Thompson, 
Hughes,  George, 
Imiiott",  William  H., 
Kennedy,  William, 
Long,  Jacob, 
Loudenslager,  AVilliam, 
Marsli,  Charles, 
Miller,  J.  Howard, 
Murphy,  Joseph, 
Nesbit,  Alvin, 
Pardoe,  Samuel  I., 
Paul,  Peter  G., 
Poeth,  George  M., 
Rank,  Lemuel, 
Reese,  John  S., 
Simouton,  Jolm  W., 
Smitliers,  Benjamin  F., 
Smitli,  Jacob  M., 
Search,  William, 
Stoughton,  Frank, 
Vincient,  Jolm, 
Walker  Edward, 
Wertz,  C.  C, 
Wallace,  John  D., 
Zentmeyer,  Peter. 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  SECOND  REGIMENT. 


Lieutenant  Colonel  John  A.  Maus, 
Surgeon  S.  Carson  McCormick. 

CoTiHipany  I. 
Captain  Jacob  Neyhart, 
First  Lieutenant  .Jacob  H.  Brown, 
Sec.  Lieut.  George  Y.  McLaughlin, 
First  Sergeant  Jolm  B.  Ritner, 
Sergeant  William  P.  Allen, 
"        James  P.  Gundy, 
"        Samuel  S.  Rank, 
"        George  H.  Gressinger. 
Corporal  Enos  Zentmeyer, 
"        Joseph  C.  Dull, 
"        John  W.  Brown, 
"        Samuel  S.  Hess, 
"        George  Himmerdinger, 
"        Henry  S.  Dewey, 
"        John  M.  Brown, 
"        Zacheus  Cornelius. 
ISIusician  Cameron  McGregor. 

rrivates. 
Becher,  Amos  G., 
Becher,  William, 
Bently,  John, 
Bogart,  Hosea, 
Bogart,  Joseph, 
Bower,  Francis, 
Brintzehoflf,  C,  W., 
Brobst,  John, 

38 


Brown,  William  W., 
Chappel,  Shelter, 
Chapi:)el,  Charles, 
Chappel,  Charles  W., 
Cleaver,  Jesse, 
Cornelius,  Jesse  M., 
Cornelius,  Andrew  M., 
Dennis,  Levi, 
Dickey,  Lester  P., 
Ditt'enderfer,  D.  A., 
Elce,  Jonathan  F., 
Ellis,  James  S., 
Engie,  Jacob, 
Engleman,  Elias, 
Eveland,  James, 
Everet,  John, 
Fahnestock,  H.  M., 
Fesler,  John  H., 
Fetter,  Cyru,s, 
Fisher,  Jared, 
Fisher,  .John  H., 
Fisher,  Paul, 
Flick,  Charles  W., 
Gebhart,  Henry  G., 
Grood,  Hiram, 
Gossness,  .Joseph  AV., 
Ginter,  William, 
Gvissler,  Isaiah, 
Hann,  James  R., 
Hann,  David, 
Hawkenberry,  J.  D., 


594 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Haynes,  John, 
Heister,  Jacob, 
Hess,  Joseph, 
Hester,  Henry, 
Hooveman,  James, 
Huff;  Daniel, 
Huff,  James, 
Huff",  John  S., 
Huff,  David, 
HvTinmel,  Benjamin, 
Hummel,  Frederick, 
Irwin,  Henry, 
Jamison,  senior,  John, 
Jamison,  Augxistus  B., 
Keener,  John, 
Keyser,  Jacob, 
Kint,  George  W., 
Kui^i^,  John  S., 
Landaw,  William, 
Leonard,  William, 
Leonard,  Benjamin, 
Long,  Peter, 
Lynn,  Charles, 
Mathias,  John  A., 
Miller,  Joseph  P., 
Mowrer,  Michael  S., 
Nagle,  Andrew, 
Newman,  Daniel, 
Pierce,  Amariah  H., 

LIST  OF  SOLDIERS  BURIED  IN  THE  SEVERAL   CEMETERIES 
IN   UNION   COUNTY. 


Plainer,  Lemuel  J., 
Powers,  Edward, 
Rank;  IMartin  J., 
Rank,  David, 
Ralirer,  Jolm, 
Reichley,  Benjamin  F. 
Reichley,  William  A., 
Reitmeyer,  George  E., 
Reitmej^er,  D.  K., 
Rohrabach,  James, 
Sanders,  Hiram, 
Sanders,  Charles, 
Sanders,  Henry  W., 
Sanders,  George  L.,       ' 
Search,  John  B., 
Shannon,  James, 
Shannon,  William, 
Slear,  David  G., 
Smitli,  Jeremiah, 
Sjjeece,  David, 
Swartz,  John, 
Taylor,  Henry  O., 
Trester,  IMartin, 
Wagner,  Jesse  H., 
Wertz,  Henry, 
Williams,  George, 
Young,  Abraham, 
Young,  James  A. 


Mifflinburg. — Presbyterian     Ceme- 
tery. 
Clai^ham,  Thomas  H., 
Rissel,  David  H. 

Old  Orave-yard. 
Edleman,  Elias, 
Mattis,  Henry, 
Musser,  Robert, 
Oberdorf,  George, 
Schreck,  Jacob. 

New  Cemetery. 
Durst,  John  H., 
Forster,  Wilson, 
Montelius,  W.  P., 
Orwig,  I'cujamin  M., 
Rcisli,  Daniel  K., 
Smith,  Levi  II., 
Smith,  Hiram, 
Steadman,  Dr.  H.  C. 

White  Deer  Church  Cemetery. 
Deibert,  John  P.,  Co.  E,  142d, 
Dersham,  John  S.,  Co.  A,  I99th, 
Follmer,  William,  H.,  Co.  E,  142d. 

Buffalo  Cross-Roads. 
Lashells,  George  W.,  Co.  A,  131st, 
McGee,  Isaac  G.,  Co.  E,  51st. 


Union  Church  Cemetery. 
Fetter,  Jacob,  Co.  D,  52d, 
Moyer,  John  W.,  142d, 
Richard,  Edward  A.,  Co.  K,  51st. 

Dreisbach  Church. 
Bowersox,  Henry,  51st, 
Dunkle,  James  M.,  Co.  E,  51st, 
Eachus,  John  F., 
Wolfe,  William  H.,  Co.  E,  142d. 

Leicisburg  Cemetery. 

Arev,  William  R.,  Orderlv  Sergt., 
Co.  F,  24th  U.  S.  C.  T.  Died  Feb- 
ruar^^  19,  1871. 

Arev,  Milton,  Co.  A,  43d  U.S.  C.  T. 
Died  October  14,  1867. 

Bennett,  William  A.,  Hospital  Stew- 
ard, 14th  U.  S.  Infantry.  Died 
November  28,  1869. 

Brooks,  John,  Co.  F,  49th  Pa. 

Cameron,  James,  Col.  79t)i  N.  Y. 
Highlanders.  Killed  in  liattle  of 
Bull  Run,  Julv21,  1861. 

Chapi)el,  /achary,  Co.  ]i,  5th  Pa. 
Res.  Cor.     Died  April  6,  1865. 

Coriu;lius,  Jackson,  Co.  D,  52d  Pa. 
Died  June  5,  1867. 


I 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


59S 


Cox,  William  Franklin,  Sergt.,  Bat.  I 
K,  2d  Pa.  Heavy  Art.     Died  July 
9,    1866,    from  disease    contracted 
wliile  a  prisoner  at  Anderson ville,  t 
Georgia.  i 

Dewire,  Alexander,  Co.  E,  51st.  1 

Derr,  .John  H.,  Co.  G,  4th  Pa.  Vol. 
Died  Aug-ust  15, 1861,  from  disease 
contracted  while  in  service. 

Dicliev,  Lester  P.,  Co.  I,  202d  Pa, 
Vol.     Died  August  29,  1870. 

Dodge,  Edward  R.,  Surgeon,  U.  S. 
Navy.  Promoted  8urgeon,  De- 
cember 21,  1869.  Died  March  29, 
1871. 

Eccleston,  Charles,  First  Lieutenant, 
Heavy  Artillery. 

Evans,  Charles  K.,  Captain,  Co.  E, 
142d  Pa.  Vol.  Died  September  23, 
1867. 

Graham,  Henrj^  Spyker,  Sergeant, 
Co.  F,  2d  Pa.  Cav.  Died  August 
28,  1868. 

Gussler,  Joim  A.,  Co.  C,  161st  N.  Y. 
Vol.     Died  Jidv  27,  1871. 

Ireland,  J  ohn  W.*^,  Co.  D,  5th  Pa.  Res. 
Cor.     Died  October  18,  1862. 

Kennedv,  William  M.,  Co.  E,  208th 
Pa.  Vol.  Died  at  City  Point,  Va., 
April  15,  1865,  from  wounds  re- 
ceived before  Petersburg,  Virginia, 
April  2,  1865. 

Knox,  John  H.,  Captain,  Co.  D,  11th 
Pa.  V^ol.  Died  at  Jersey  Shore, 
Pa.,  February  28, 1862. 

Lenhart,  Henry,  Co.  D,  52dPa.  Vol. 
Died  November  28,  1864. 

Lenliart,  Benjamin,  Co.  I,  202d. 

McBride,  James,  Sergeant,  Co.  D, 
52d  Pa.  Vol.  Died  at  Wasliington, 
December  1,  1861. 

McFadden,  Theodore  H., First  Lieut. 
Co.  D,  5th  Pa.  Res.  Cor.  VV^ounded 
in  battle  of  New  Market  Cross- 
Roads,  June  30,  1862.  Died  Jan- 
uary 29,  1870. 

McGregor,  Charles,  ^lusician,  Co.  D, 
51stPa.  Vol.     Dic'd  M:irch4,  1866. 

Milsom,  John,  Sergeant,  (Jo.  E.,  53d 
Pa.  Vol.  Died  at  Annapolis,  Md., 
December  30,  1864. 

Murphy,  Edward  H.,  with  construc- 
tion train,  5th  N.  Y.  Vol.  Died 
February  9,  1870. 

Penny,  Charles  A.,  Corporal,  Co. 
D,  5-id  Pa.  Vol.  Died  at  Craney 
Island,  Va.,  September  25,  1862. 

Phillips,  William  L.,  Lieutenant, 
Co.  D,  52d  Pa.  Vol.  Died  at  Cham- 
bersburg.  Pa.,  January  5,  1872. 

Rohrabach,  James  H.,  Co.  H,  131st. 


Schaffle,  Joseph  J.,  Co.  H,  90th  Pa. 

Vol.     Died  at  Wasliington,  D.  C, 

.January  12,  1863,   from   a  wound 

received  in  battle  of  Fredericks- 

Ijurg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862. 
Schattle,  F.  S.,  Co.  E,  51st. 
Stajjletcjn,  George,  Co.  E,  142d  Pa. 

Vol.     Died  July  26,  1863,  from  a 

woimd    received    at    Gettysburg 

July  1,  1863. 
Stougliton,  Roland,  Captain,  Co.  D. 

150th  Pa.  \o\.     Died  May  24, 1864. 
Tucker,  Andrew  G.,  First  Lieut.  Co. 

E,  14i:;d  Pa.  Vol.     Killed  in  battle 

at  Gettysburg,  July  1,  1863. 
Van  Gezer,  George,  Co.  H,  51st  Pa. 

Vol.     Died  November  16,  1870. 
Wertz,  John  H.,  Co.  G,  4th  Pa.  \^ol. 

Died  May  28,  1862. 
Wetzel,  Conrad.     Died  October  20, 

1866,  from  disease  contracted  wliile 

in  service. 
Wilkes,  Noall,  Co.  D,  5th  Pa.  Res. 

Cor.     Died  vSejjtember  7,  1861. 
Young,  Peter,  Co.  I,  192d  Pa.  Vol. 

Died  January  6,  1869. 
Zimmerman,   William,  Co.    E,  51st 

Pa.  Vol.     Died  August  3,  1866. 

Buried  at  Various  Places. 

Ammon,  Levi  H.,  Corporal,  Co.  E, 
51st  Pa.  Vol.  Killed  in  Wilder- 
ness battle.  May  6,  1864. 

Arey,  Barton,  Co.  A,  43d  U.  S.  C.  T. 
Wounded  before  Petersburg,  Va., 
and  taken  to  hospital  at  David's 
Island,  where  he  died  and  was 
buried. 

Baldwin,  Absalom,  Co.  K,  51st  Pa. 
Vol.  Captured  and  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Ga.,  September  24,  18(i4. 

Beaver,  J.  Gilbert,  First  Lieut.,  Co. 
H,  51st  Pa.  Vol.  Buried  at  Mil- 
lerstown,  Pa. 

Dentler,  Henry  G.,  Corporal,  Co.  K, 
51st  Pa.  Vol.  Captured  and  died 
at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  May  17, 
1864 — grave  1,161. 

Donachy,  William,  Corporal,  Co.  D, 
150th  Pa.  Vol.  Killed  in  battle  at 
Laurel  Hill,  Va.,  May  8,  18(i4. 

Dvill,  George  N.,  Co.  K,  51st  Pa.  Vol. 
Died  from  disease,  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  September  19,  1864.  Buried 
there — grave  2,683. 

Evans,  ICdwin  A.,  Captain,  BatterA' 
D,  3d  Pa.  Heavy  Art.  Dieil,  in 
Philadelphia,  AprU  30,  187u.  Bu- 
ried at  New  Britain,  Bucks  Co., 
Pa. 


59(> 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Fiehthorn,  .Taines,  Sergeant,  Co.  D, 
5th  Pa.  Res.  Cor.  Mustered  June 
5,  18G1.  Died  between  the  11th 
and  Ifith  of  FeT)ruary,  1865,  at 
Salishiuy,  Xorth  Carolina. 

Gallagher,  Henry,  Musician,  Co.  D, 
52d  Pa.  Vol.'  Died  at  White 
House,  Va.,  Jvine  15,  18(32. 

Gibson,  James,  Sergeant,  Co.K,  51st. 
Killed  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va., 
July  30,  1S(U. 

Green,  \\'illiain  Cameron,  private, 
Co.  D,  Fifth  Pa.  Res.  Cor.  Pro- 
moted Second  Lieutenant  in  First 
United  States  Infantry,  Septem- 
ber 27. 1861.  Afterward  promoted 
to  Captain  in  First  United  States 
Infantry.  Died  on  board  ship,  Oc- 
tober 3,- 1867. 

Grier,  Thomas  G.,  Co.  H,  51st  Pa. 
Vol.  Died  with  yellow  fever,  at 
Morehead  City,  N.  C,  October  6, 
1864.     Buried  there. 

Kelly,  James  A.,  Co.  H,  51st  Pa. 
Vol.  Died  at  Roanoke  Island,  N. 
C,  March  27,  1862. 

Ludwig,  Jared  R.,  Co.  K,  51st  Pa. 
Vol.  Absent  at  muster  out ;  sup- 
posed to  have  been  killed  in  bat- 
tle or  captured  and  died  while  a 
prisoner. 

McFadden,  Edward  A.,  Co.  D,  150th 
Pa.  Vol.  Killed  at  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 

Mensch,  John,  Co.  F,  -IGth  Pa.  Vol. 
Killed  at  Spotts^dvania  Court- 
House,  Va.,  May  10,  1864. 

Miller,  Samuel  K.,  Co.  I,  1st  Pa. 
Killed  in  battle  at  Fredericks- 
Ijurg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862. 


Musser,  John  D.,  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel. Mustered  as  Major  of  143d 
Pa.  Vol.,  October  18,  1862.  Pro- 
moted to  Lieutenant  Colonel  June 
2,  1863.  Killed  in  battle  of  Wild- 
erness, May  6,  1864.  Buried  at 
Muncy,  Pa.' 

Piper,  VVilliam,  Co.  H,  56th  Pa.  Vol. 
Killed  in  battle  of  Spottsjdvania, 
Va.,  May  — ,  1864. 

Potter,  Thomas,  Corporal,  Batter3'- 
A,  1st  Pa.  Art.  Killed  in  battle  at 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862. 

Reed,  Daniel  M.,  Corporal,  Co.  G, 
50th  Pa.  Vol.  Killed  at  Chantilly, 
Va.,  September  1,  1862. 

Schalile,  Charles  D.,  Captain,  Co. 
D,  5th  Pa.  Res.  Cor.  Wounded 
and  taken  prisoner  in  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December 
13,  1862,  and  died  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  January  31,  1863. 

Sedam,  John,  Co.  D,  150th  Pa.  Vol. 
Taken  prisoner,  and  died  at  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  January  2,  1864. 

Smaltzried,  Gotlieb,"^  Corporal,  Co. 
D,  52d  Pa.  Died  at  Morris  Island, 
S.  C,  September  6,  1863. 

Sterner,  Frank  B.,  Captain,  Co.  K, 
51st.  Killed  at  Spottsylvania 
Court-House,  Va.,  May  12,-1864. 

Weidensaul,  Elias  B.,  Second  Lien- 
tenant,  Co.  D,  150th  Pa.  Vol. 
Killed  in  battle  of  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 

Wertz,  Harrison,  Co.  D.  5th  Pa.  Res. 
Cor.  Killed  in  battle  of  Freder- 
icksburg, Va.,  December  13,  18(52. 

Wilson,  lioljert  M.,  Died  August  19, 
J  8(37.     Buried  at  Norfolk,  Va. 


MILITARY  RECORD,  1861-65. 


ADDENDA. 


COMPAiSrY  D,  FIFTH  RESERVES. 


Cnjitains. 
Thomas  Chamberlin,  wounded  June 

?>,  18(>2.     Promoted  Major  of  One 

Hundred  and  Fiftieth. 
W.  H.  H.  McCall, 
f'harles  D.  Sehatfle. 

First  Lieutenniits. 
.lonathan  E.  Wolfe, 
Tlieodore  H.  McFadden, 
Thomas  B.  Reed. 

Sergedvts. 

George  C.  Kelly, 

William  Searles, 

.Tames  Doran, 

Ricliard  H.  Walk, 

William  W.  Schwenk, 

.Tames  Fielithorn, 

.Tames  M.  Essington, 

(leorge  M.  Slifer, 

H.  .T.  Schotield,  died  Xoveml)er  9, 

1861, 
.Tolm  C.  McMioliael,  killed  Beoem- 

Iter  13,  lSfi2. 

<  'orjxtriilK. 
Amos  Ditswoi'th, 
John  B.  Haper, 
George  W.  Sehoeh, 
George  Eicholtz, 
John  Babb, 
.Ta(5ib  K.  Meitz, 
George  Harlieson, 
.Taeolj  Reese, 
Effinger  L.  Reber, 
Jacob  Camp) )ell,killed  June 30, 1862, 
William  Haskins,  killed  December 

13,  18(W, 
.Tacob  M.  Barnliart. 


Musicians. 
.Tames  Barnhart, 
John  Clymer. 

Privates. 
Beckly,  William, 
I5onnell,  .Tohn, 
Boylan,  Michael  B., 
Barnhart,  Joseph, 
liennett,  Sylvester, 
Crawford,  TJiomas, 
Canfield,  David, 
Covert,  Daniel, 
Connell,  John, 
Doughertv,  John, 
Ennis,  John  F.,  killed  April  29, 1864, 
Fravel,  William, 
Fry,  Benjamin, 
Gaskill,  Tliomas, 
(4ill)ert,  Daniel, 
Green,  William  C, 
(Tilman,  Albert, 
Hartman,  .Tohn, 
Hutli,  Nathaniel, 
ITariier,  Isaac, 
Irwine,  George, 
.Terns,  Lewis, 
.Toll,  .Joseph 
Jolmson,  Albert  E., 
■Tohnson,  William, 
Kennedy,  Thomas, 
Knoll,  .Tohn, 

Kvle,  John,  killed  June  27,  1862, 
Kessler,  John,  killed  June  30,  1862, 
Landis,  Harry  L., 
Moody,  Charles, 
Monroe,  Lawrence, 
Markel,  Levi, 
Morrison,  James  A., 
Moyer,  Charles, 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Meteer,  William, 

Jklyers,  William,  killed  Maj'  9,  18(i4, 

Peeling,  Cluirles, 

Price,  John  D., 

Page,  Elias, 

Reed,  Samuel  A., 

Reeder,  Charles  W., 

Reljer,  Jolm  M., 

Ripple,  Jolm, 

Recker,  Darius  Ij.,  killed  June  30, 

1862, 
Roberts,  John E.,  killed  June  B0,1862. 
Rol;)erts,  Patrick, 
Reed,  John, 
Snyder,  Charles  E., 
Stroup,  Joseph, 
Smith,  William  H., 
Smith,  Levi, 
Smith,  Peter, 
Strahan,  Harrison, 
Saylor,  George  B., 


Showers,  William  H., 

Sticker,  Andrew  H.,  killed  Mav  9, 

18fU, 
Taylor,  Thomas,  died  May  13,  1864, 
Tlieis,  Henry, 
Ulrich,  Henrv, 
Walsh,  Robert, 
Wlieeler,  T^uther, 
Wertz,  Isaac, 
Wertz,  Jackson, 
Wertz, Harrison, killed  Deceml)er  13, 

1862, 
Washburn,  Charles, 
Woodward,  York  A., 
Wilson,  Thomas  F., 
Wilkes,  Newell,  died  September  17, 

1861, 
Welsh,  Jolm,  died  April  13,  1862, 
Woodward,  O,  B.,  died  December  6, 

1862, 
Whatmore,  William. 


COMPANY  B,  FIFTH  RESERVES. 


Chappell,  Zachariah, 
Hawk,  David, 


McFall,  James, 
McPlierson,  Milton. 


COMPANY  C,  FIFTH  RESERVES. 
Potter,  John  E.,  ||  Potter,  Thos.  L. 

COMPANY  B,  SIXTH  RESERVES. 


Captains.  i 

Charles  D.  Rousli, 
Levi  Epler. 

First  Lieutenant. 
William  Harding. 

Second  Lientenanl. 
E.  D.  Lebkickor. 

tSerr/eaiits. 
John  Emmett. 
RoixTt  P.  Calvert,  died  at  Anderson- 

ville.  May  11,  IWU, 
Charles  S.  Swinoford, 
.James  II.  Bowman, 
Charles  S.  Bowman, 
Henry  L.  Stock. 

('orporaJs. 
<Teorge  Everett, 
Henry  H.  Bowen, 
Isaac  I'^ink, 
>richacl  Cant\\('ll,(lic(l  at  .^iidcrson- 

villc,  July  2s,  isil-j. 
Henjamin  T.  Parks, 
John  Zergey, 


Samuel  Ritter, 

Nevin  P.  Gutelius, 

Henry  B. Monry, mortall.\-  wounded 

at  South  ^Fountain, 
Thomas  Robinson,  killed  .June  27, 

1862. 

M  asieian. 
Daniel  P.  Rumhcrger. 

I^ri  rates. 

Auckcy,  .James, 

Arnold,  .James, 

Arnold,  John, 

Botdorf  Hculien, 

Bowcrsox,   David, 

Bender  Solomon, 

Bobb,  William,  died  August  S,  IS^U, 

Jioran,  .Jacob   1'..  killed    Scplt'oiber 

14,    ls(i2, 
Charles,  William  F., 
Campbell,  Peter, 
Cami)l)ell,  Abraham, 
Camplx'll,  Adam, 

Ciiiibb,  Stcpiicii,  killed  May  S,  I,St!-|, 
Duck,  Wilson, 
Decker,  Isjuic, 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Doney,  John, 

Daisev,  Martin,  killed  December  13, 

1S(W, 
Eckert,  Peter,  killed  December  13, 

1862, 
Emig,  George, 
Finicle,  Edwin  W., 
Fink,  Henry, 
Feene3',  Patrick, 
Gutsleber,  Adam, 
Gray,  Michael,  died   at    Anderson- 

vi'lle, 
Gregory,  Cyrus, 
Guiidrum,  Samuel, 
Grow,  Daniel, 
Haas,  Levi, 
ITaiues,  George, 
llaiiiinond,  Thomas, 
Keeler  Xathaniel, 
Keifer,  ^Martin  L., 
Kohler,  John,  killed  September  17, 

18(W, 
Long,  Samuel, 
Loy,  John, 
Leister,  Franklin, 
Miller  Charles, 
Mooney,  Jacob  E.,  prisoner, 
Mowry,  David  C,  prisoner, 
Mackey,  Clinton, 
McCormick,  John,  prisoner, 
Norwood,  Joseph, 
Neitz,  Emanuel, 
Oswald,  William, 
Pepper,  ^lichael, 
Parker,  David, 
Peifer,  William  H., 
Portzline,  Henry, 
Rupp,  John  C, 


Ressler,  Levi  C, 

Reif,  Franklin, 

Rorick,  John  B., 

Reigle,  John, 

Rogers,  Samuel, 

Rathfon,  Wilson, 

Rathfon,  Thomas, 

Reichenlaach,  Joel, 

Smith,  John, 

Seesholtz,  Samuel, 

Salada,  Cyrus, 

Sampsel.  John, 

SeileV,  William, 

Snyder,  John  X., 

Sterick,  Theodore  S.  F., 

Smith,  Nicholas, 

Shatter,  Joel, 

Seachrist,  John  H., 

Shultzljach,  Henrv, 

Stahl,  William, 

Swartz,  Nathaniel,  died  August  10, 
1861, 

Spotts,  Samuel,  drowned  Julv  7, 
1862, 

Stever,  John,  killed  August  30, 1862, 

Shell,  David,  died  October  1,  1862, 

Troup,  Simon,  killed  September  14, 
1862, 

Trego,  John,  died  October  3,  1862, 

Walt,  William, 

Wilmore,  Rudy, 

Weirick,  Emanuel, 

Zortman,  John  F., 

Zimmerman,  Samuel,  died  Septem- 
ber 11,  1861, 

Zechmen,  Jacob  F.,  died  September 
16,  1862. 


COMPANY  H,  SEVENTY-SIXTH  REGIMENT. 
D.  B.  MacGreggor,  James  H.  Pross. 


COMPAXY  C,  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIRST  REGIMENT. 

M(trch  18,  1885 — Juyie  "25,  1865. 


Cajitain. 
William  Fichthorn. 

First  Lieutenant. 
Samuel  B.  Reber. 

tSeeond  Lieatenant. 
Hubley  D.  Albright. 

Sergeants. 
Frank  C.  Stoughton, 
John  D.  L.  Bear, 
Jacob  L.  Worley, 


David  G.  Alter, 
Christian  H.  Kerr. 

Corporals. 

William  H.  Cawlev, 
William  H.  McCafje, 
Jacob  Sheatfer, 
David  M.  Suloft; 
David  James, 
Edward  Stevens, 
Jacob  Machamer, 
Jonathan  Miller. 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLFV. 


Musicians. 

FA'mxs  Yiesley, 
HciijiUitin  O.  Rudy. 

Privates. 
Acker,  Moses, 
Arnold,  Enoch, 
Harkov,  Isaiah, 
Hovlc,  John, 
l',rackl)ill,  Thomas, 
C'assnlt  David  A., 
Cliilds,  David, 
Chaliant,  BrantlcN", 
Chronister  Adam, 
Chronister,  Anion, 
Derr,  George  P., 
Derr,  Henry  C, 
Day,  George, 
De'wire  Thomas, 
Dewire  William, 
Erl)  Peter, 
Fockler,  Jacob  L., 
Furman,  Moses  R., 
Getz,  Adam, 
Goodman,  George  F.^ 
Gougler,  Frederick, 
Gibljon^■,  William  S-, 
Groiijj,  "William  INI. 
Group,  Howard  W., 
Gardner,  John  A., 
Geistwite,  Joseph, 
Hosier,  John, 
Henck,  Thomas  J., 
Hertzler,  Ephram, 
Harris,  Mark  H., 
Heffner,  vSaniuel, 
Hoffman,  John  C, 
Hollinger,  George, 
Hildebrand,  James  A,, 
Henck,  Cyrus  M., 
Jjicobs,  Oijediah, 
Jenkins,  Hiram, 
Kootis,  Lehman  L,, 


Klingman,  William, 
Logan,  John  E., 
Long,  Joseph  E., 
Mack,  Edward, 
Mauck,  John  E., 
Mart/,,  Peter  A., 
Maister.  John, 
Myers,  Wasliington  S., 
Myers,  Peter  IL, 
Miller,  Howard, 
Makin,  William, 
Mussina,  H.   B., 
McMeen,  Hugh, 
McElwee,  John  A., 
McGhec,  Charles, 
McKilli)),  Cliarlcs  A., 
Nesl^it,  Alvin, 
Peters,  Amos, 
Robinson,  George  W., 
Raum,  John  C, 
Rudy,  Jacf)l), 
Renner,  Elias, 
Simmers,  Isaac, 
Sec.hler,  Jolm  C. 
Swartz,  Jacrol), 
Stuart,  Robert  M., 
Spealman,  Frank, 
Slaybaugh,  Isiiiic, 
Snyder,  Howard, 
Stitzel,  Jaeol), 
Thompson,  Charles  M.. 
Tayler,  Samuel, 
Troup,  Sylvester  S., 
Trimmer,  Gibson, 
Trimmer,  Jolm  IT., 
Vanada,  Solomon, 
Wilson,  James, 
Whitmer,  Amos, 
Wilkerson,  William, 
Wright,  Morgan, 
Wolf,  Sanmel, 
Yeager,  George, 
Hegler,  Elijah  R., 


INDEX. 


Abolition  lecture, 527 

Aborigines  of  the  Valley, 6 

Academy,  Lewisbvirg, 546 

'*  building  of  University,  ground  broken  for 548 

Accidents, "^ 439,492,496,512,514,525,526 

Adams,  Reverend  John  Dietrich, ••....    369 

Agricultural,  Union,  association  formed,     501 

"  fairs,      501,555 

"  society,  Union  county, 528,554 

"  "  "  "         awards  of  conunittees, 528 

Albright,  Honorable  Andrew,  sketch  of, 457 

Allen  family  murdered, 188 

Allison,  Archibald,  narrative  of, 173 

Allummapees,  King  of  the  Delawares,     20 

Anti-Mason  ticket  formed, 501 

Anthony,  Joseph  B.,  holds  court  at  Sunbury, 543 

Armstrong,  Colonel  John,  surveys  of,  .    ...       9,19 

Associators,  list  of  companies  of, ". 90 

"  officers  chosen, 90,119 

"  brigadier  general  elected, 99 

Associate  Reformed  Church,      448 

Attorneys  admitted, 42, 

44, 89, 151, 235, 241, 418, 49--), 501, 513, 524, 531,540 ,542, 546 

'•  list  of 494 

Aurand,  Reverend  John  Dietrich, 152,199,284 

Aurand's  hotel  Ijurned, 533 

Ayers  killed, 157 

Bacon,  Elijah,  visits  Vallej', 4()0,495 

Bald  Eagle  creek  declared'  a  liighwa}', 36 

Banks,  a  I  •!  regulating,  pas.sed,  .    .    ." 417 

"       susjH'iidi'd, 442, .534 

"       card  of  directors  of  Northumberland, 534 

Baptist  settlers, 283 

Bar,  peculiarities  of  the 481 

Barber,  Robert,  builds  at  White  Spring,      . 48,269 

Barnes,  Reverend  W.  H.  H., 544 

Barton,  Kimber,     325 

Bashor,  John  Michael,  killed, 157 

Baskins,  Honorable  John,  resigns  and  removes, 540 

Battalion  drill  at  Lewisburg, 5.50 

Baum,  Samuel  R.,  appointed  postmaster, 552 

Bear's  mills  erected, 232 

Beaver  run, 7 

"       township,  residents  of, 258,270,284,319 

597 


598  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Bellas,  Esquire,  Hugh, 365 

Berlin  iron-works,  first  nietul  nitide  at, 545 

"        "  "        blown  ovit, 549 

Bifkle,  Henry,  killed, 201 

Billnian,  Dowalt,  notice  of, 450 

Billinver,  Andrew,  tavern  of, 243,252 

Binganian,  Frederick,  death  of, 545 

Black  Ann,  whiiiijed, 194 

Blythe,  William,  notice  of, 25 

Boatman,  Mrs.  Claudius,  killed, 211 

Boat-vard  removed  to  Lewisliurg, 551 

Boone,  Captain  Hawkins, 52,107,123,166,178 

Boude  famil3%  notice  of, 258 

Bower,  George,  notice  of, 450 

Boy  killed  near  Gundy 's  mill, 213 

Boyd  family,  notice  of,     143 

Boyer,  Jacob  K.,  convicted, 497 

Brady,  Captain  John, 98,143,165,166 

"    killed,     168,220,225 

"       James,  killed, 164,225 

"       Mrs.  Mary,  death  of, 219 

"       familv  reminiscences  of, 219 

"       Captain  Samuel, 81,143,219 

"  "  "         kills  Bald  Eagle, 175 

"  "  "         adventuresof, 227 

"  "  death  of, 230 

'*       General  Hvigh, 219 

"       John,  (sheriff,) 226 

"       Lieutenant  Samuel,  at  Chippewa, 419 

"  "  "        letter  to  Captain  Vincent, 419 

Brandy  wine,  battle  of, 143 

Bridge,  Northumberland  built, 406,438 

"  *'  carried  away, 546 

"       Lewisburg  chartered, • 417 

"  "  supplement  to  charter, 433 

"  "  built, 438 

"       Tjimestone  run,  carried  away, 437 

"       Harrisburg, 438 

"  "  portion  of,  carried  away, 546 

"       at  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek  built, 378 

"        "         "      "         "  "      carried  awaj% 548 

"       new   "      "         "  "         552 

"       Milton,  injured  by  flood,      546 

"       at  Duncan's  Island,  carried  away, 546 

Brinton,  Joseph,  notice  of, ' 449 

Brobst,  .Jacob, 435 

Bockenor,  Isaac,  accident  to,      496 

Brodhead's  regiment,  Eighth  Pennsylvania,  two  soldiers  of,  killed,  .    .    163 

Brown,  Jonathan, .' 449 

"       Eleanor, 246 

"       Matthew,  death  of, 142 

"       Michael,  recollections  of  the  i)eoplo  of  the  Valley, 341 

Buchanan,  Honorable  James,  speaks  at  Milton, 544 

Buffalo  creek, 7 

"  "    bridge  built  at  mouth  of,     378 

Buffalo  township  erected, 42 

"  "  attempt  to  divide, 151 

"  "  residents  of, 50, 

(57 ,  148 , 1 8 1 ,  194 , 2 14 ,  23(5 ,  242 ,  244 ,  252 ,258 , 2()3 ,  269 

r.uiralo  Cross-Roads  church, 51,60,270,433,524 

"         «'       first  hotel  at, 318 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  S99 


Buffiilo,  East  and  West,  townships  erected, 274 

'*         East,  residents  of, 278, 

283,294,317,323,326,332,337,340,353,355,370,379,380 

Buffalo,  West,  improvements,  Ac, 279 

"      stills  in, 280 

ii  '*       rGsidGiits  of  280 

282, 294, 301, 317, 333, 337, 340, 354,355,370  ,'379, 387 

Caderman,  Jacob  and  Conrad,  captured,     199 

California  gold  fever  reaches  Valley, 549 

"         emigration  to, 549 

Canal  meeting 491 

"     located, 495 

"     let, 496 

"     Lewisburg  cross-cut, 496,503 

"  "  "       "    first  boats  through, 512 

"     rates  of  freight  on, 503 

CamiJ  Potter  organized, 544 

Camp-meeting,  first  Methodist, 354 

"  "  544 

Campbell,  Captain,  killed,     199 

"  Daniel,  notice  of, 281 

"  M<'Donald,  notice  of, 450 

John,  "        " 450 

Campleton,  Captain  Thomas,  (Kemplin,)     165,174,179 

"  "  "         killed, 198 

Carner,  Anthony,  notice  of, 450 

Celebration,  Fourth  of  July, 488,504,505,524,544 

"  "  "      toasts  at, 526 

'*  "  "      iiartisan  toasts  at, 524 

"  "  "      accidents  at,      526 

Cemetery  at  Lewisburg, 549 

Census  1820, 449 

"        1830, 502 

"        1840, 537 

"        1850, 552 

"        1860, 557 

"        1870, 557 

Chamberlin,  Colonel  William,  notice  of, 440 

Chambers,  James,  killed, 185 

Chapman,  Seth,  acquitted, 487 

Chappel  Hollow,  alias  Haverly's  Gap, 75 

Chestnut  Ridoe,  post  office  established  at, 552 

Chilloway,  Job, 141 

Chippewa,  battle  of, 419 

Churches,  notices  of,     93,253,448 

Church,  Buffalo  Cross-Roads  Presbvterian, 51,60,231,250,270 

"  "  "  *■'  new  built 433 

"  "  "  "  last  sermon  in 546 

"        iNIethodist,  organized  at  Lewisburg, 406 

"  '<  new,  at  Lewisburg  consecrated, 511 

"        First  Pastor  German  Reformed, 259 

"        Baptist,  effort  to  establish, 283 

"        Dreisbach,  condition  of, 327 

"        St.  Peter's,  in  Kellv,  built, 333,430 

"        Ray's,  built,     .    .    .- 333 

"        first  Baptist,  organized, 371 

"  "  "        pastors  of, 371 

"        Baptist,  at  Lewisbiu-g,      543,545 

"  *'  "  first  sermon  in  new, 546 

"        Emanuel's,  at  New  Berlin,  dedicated, 481 

"        Associate  Reformed,  of  Mitfiinburg,  organized 448 


6oo  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Churcli,  ]\rpthodist,  at  New  Berlin,  dedicated, 437 

"        Cliristian  Chapel  at  Lewisburg  built, 441,055 

"  "  "  "  opened, 4(10 

*'        Bethel,  organized,     504 

"        Presbyterian,  at  Lewisburg,  built, 505 

"  "  "  first  sermon  in, 511 

"        Laurelton,  organized, 506 

"        Union,  German  Reformed  and  Lutheran,  subscription  for 

starting,     512 

"        Union,  German  Reformed  and  Lutheran,  dedicated,    ....    524 

"        Laurel  run,  dedicated, 540 

"        German  Reformed,  Pastor  of,  installed, 540 

"        Lutheran,  at  Selinsgrove, 543 

"  "         and  Reformed,  in  Bufl'alo  township,  dedicated,  .    .    534 

"        Presbj-ierian,  at  New  Berlin, 538,543 

"        German  Reformed,  in  Lewisburg,  corner  stone  of,  laid,  .    .    .    547 

"  '*  "  "  dedicated, 548 

"  "  "  "  pastor  of, 551 

Clark,  Esquire,  John,  visits  Lewisburg, 512 

Clark,  George,  surveyor, 122 

Clark,  Walter,  Ac,  moves  to  Valley, 39 

Clarke,  Captain  John,  roll  of  his  company, 121 

Clay,  Henry,  card  of,  in  National  Intelligencer, 472 

Clemens,  Peter, 450 

Clingan,  William,  notice  of, 457 

Coal,  bituminous,  received,  and  price  of, 514 

Cochran,  James,  letter  to  Robert  Irwin, 351 

Cole,  Colonel  Philip, 51 

Cold  Friday,     526 

Columbia  Gazette, 416 

Colniiiliia  uuards  en  route  to  Mexico,  flag  presentation  and  return,     .    547 

Comet  vi.sibLe, 398,455,479 

Committee  of  Safetv,  minutes  of, 99 ,  127 

Committee  men,  lists  of, 99,110,131 

Condition  of  the  Valley, 153 

"  "    "    court  business, 165 

Conference,  Albright  and  United  Brethren 413 

Connecticut  claim,     45,53,87 

Constitution  of  1776,  synopsis  of 94 

"  United  States,  ratified, " 251 

"  1790it<l()ptc(l, 266 

Contributions  for  relief  of  distressed  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,    ....    547 

Controversy,  railroad, 553 

Convention,  Carpenter's  Hall, 56 

"  1775, 65 

"  1776, 93 

"  of  associiators, 99 

"  constitutional,  delegates  to, 94,266,527 

"  1834,  delegates  to, 519 

"  Anti-Masonic,      519 

"  Democratic,      521,540 

'*  temperance,  at  Lewisburg, 539 

"  Whig, 540 

*'  railroad,  at  Baltimore, 553 

C'ook,  John,  notice  of, 451 

Cooke,  Colonel  William,  ro.ster  of  regiment, 124,243 

Cooper,  J lonoral)]e  Thomas, 324,435 

Cornelius,  Jes.se,  accident  to,     512 

Corruption  story,  Adams  and  Clay, 478 

Coryell,  George, .' 451 

Counterfeiters  convicted, 497 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


boi 


County  lines, 448,505 

"       seat, 

"       division  of,  agitated, 

"       Union,  erected, 

"        seat,  vote  for  and  against, 

"       division  of,  vote  for  and  against, 

Couples,  David,  killed, 

Court  crier  appointed, 

"      business  condition  of, 

"      to  be  held  at  Xew  Berlin, 

"      first  circuit,  at  New  Berlin, 

"         "    in  Northumberliuid  county, 

"         "    suits  in, 

"         "    at  jNIifflinburg, 

"      Supreme,  middle  district  of,  created, 

"  "         ^jej'so?/?re?  of  justices  of, 

"  "         justices  opinion  of  Joseph  Ritner, 

Covenhoven,  Robert,  describes  the  Great  Runaway, 

"  "  "         also  that  of  1779,   .  " 

Crawford  county  system  introduced,     

Creeks,  early  names  of 

Crooked  Billet,  Abraham  Smith's  story, 

Crotzerville  post  otfice  established, 

Crotzer,  Henry  W.,  appointed  i^ostmaster, 

Dam  built  on  Penn"s  creek, 

"      at  Selin  and  Snj'der's  mill,     

Dancing  party  at  New  Berlin, 

Daguei'reot^'pes  first  in  the  Valley, 

Day's  Collections  quoted, 1-13 


,511 

18 

405 

412 
556 
556 
184 
448 
165 
429 
492 
42 
44 
418 
356 
498 
498 
156 
176 
554 


152 


555 

275 


Deaths — 

Adams,  James, 354 

Albright,  Jacob, 400 

Albriglit,  Andrew, 457 

Allen,  Samuel, 179 

Allison,  Archibald, 174 

Alsbaugh,  Margaret,    ....  344 

Antes,  Colonel  Frederick,  .    .  330 

Aurand,  Jacob, 256 

Aurand,  John, 367 

Aurand,  junior,  John,  .    .    .    .  374 

Baldv,  Susanna, 374 

Baker,  Wendell, 428 

Baker,  John, 456 

Barber  Samuel, 276 

Barber,  Thomas, 188 

Bar})er,  Sarah,      442 

Barnhart,  George, 281 

Barnhart,  Mathias, 293 

Bashor,  John  Michael,     .    .    .  156 

Beattv,  Alexander, 243 

Bickel,  Henry, 201 

Bingaman,  Frederick,  ....  545 

Bishop,  John, 417 

Black,  John, 266 

Boal,  John, 443 

Bockener,  Isaac, 496 

Bolender,  Henry, 296 

Bower,  Casper,  " 293 

Bower,  Peter, 436 

Boone,  Captain, 177 

Boveard,  James, 374 


Deaths- 

Brad;^-,  James,      

Brad3%  Captain  John,  .... 

Brady,  John, 

BrowTi,  ISIathew, 

Brown,  Eleanor, 

Brunner,  Jacob, 

Bull,  Mrs.  Mary, 

Burns,  Peter, 

Buttorf,  Michael, 

Buyei-s,   Captain  WUliam  F., 

Cameron,  Charles,      

Campbell,  Micliael, 

Campbell,  Daniel,     

Chambers,  James,      

Chambers,  Mary, 

Chamberlin,  Colonel  William, 

Christ,  Adam, 

Clark,  Robert, 

Clark,  William, 

Clarke,  Florence, 

Clarke,  Colonel  John,     .   .    . 

Clemens,  Elizabeth, 

Clingan,  William,      

Collins,  Paid, 

Cornelius,  Jesse, 

Cooke,  Colonel  William,    .    . 

Cook,  John, 

Couples,  David, 

Cramer,  George,      

Dale,  Honorable  Samuel,  .    . 
Darraugh,  Widow, 


463 
546 
,193 


164 
169 
374 
142 
142 
345 
400 
267 
345 
456 
428 
154 
281 
185 
311 
440 
374 
313 
416 
3()8 
385 
450 
457 
428 
512 
344 
452 
184 
400 
344 
512 


6o2 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Deaths — 

Daui>herty,  Captain,     ....  177 

Deal,  Henry, 417 

Denipsev,  Cornelius,    ....  244 

Derr,  Catherine,     243 

Derr,  Jolin, 547 

Douglass,  William, 401 

Dow,  Lorenzo, 314 

Dreisbach,  Anna  Eve,     .    .    .  260 

Dreisbach,  Martin, 320 

Dreisbach,  Jacob, 345 

Dreisl^ach,  Catherine,  ....  430 

Dunkle,  Catherine, 353 

Dunkle,  Killian, 436 

Dunninii',  Samuel, 374 

Earue,  Elizalictli, 374 

Egbert,  Nicli<ilas, 417 

Ellenklmsen,  ISIathias  Joseph,  277 

Emerick,  David, 201 

Etjuveiler,  George,     185 

Evans,  Nathan, 391 

Evans,  Joseph, 400 

Evans,  Evan  Rice, 400 

Evans,  Joseph,  (Lewisburg,)  514 

Ewing,  Jasper, 326 

Eyer,  Catherine, 353 

Fergvxson,  James, 281 

Fisher  John, 293 

Fleming,  James, 277 

Follmer,  Thomas, 546 

Follmer,  Henry, 546 

Forster,  j  unior^  John,    ....  239 

Forster,  Thomas, 344 

Forster,  Thomas, 390 

Forster,  Captain  John,     .    .    .  243 

Foster,  John, 234 

Fought,  Jonas, 267 

Foutz,  Mrs.  Conrad, 494 

Fox,  Andrew, 293 

Franklin,  Daniel, 368 

Frantz,  Lewis,      368 

Frederick,  George, 335 

Frederick,  Jabel,  (should  be 

Jacob,) 353 

Freedlv,  John, 430 

Freclaiid,  lOlias, 176 

Freoland,. junior,  Jacob,  .    .    .  176 

Freeland,  senior,  Jacob,  .    .    .  176 

Frick,  General  Hern-y,     .    .    .  543 

Fries,  Rev.  Just  Henry,  .    .    .  534 

Gabriel,  George,  .......  37 

Gearv,  .Tohu, 514 

Gel)hart,  Pliilip,      436 

Get/,,  Peter, 390 

Gift,  Jacob, 170 

Gray,  Lieut.   Colonel   Neigal,  244 

Gray,  Ca])t!iin  William,   .    .    .  431 

Gray,  8alli(>,  and  son,    ....  527 

Graybill,  Jolm, 354 

Green,  Mlu•g^u•c■t, 256 

Green,  Josepli, 335 


Deaths — 

Green,  Mary, 354 

Greenlee,  William, 231 

Grier,  Reverend  ls:u\c,     .    .    .  428 

Grogan,  Charles, 267 

Groninger,  Leonard,     ....  256 

Gundy,  William, 54(5 

Harris,  Honorable  William  L.,  546 

Hammond,  General  R.  H.,     .  548 

Hanev,  Christopher,     ....  2()6 

Ha\o's.  Jolm, 544 

Haves,  ]Mrs., 513 

Haves,  William, 540 

Herrold, , 170 

Hetrick,  Christian, 208 

Himmelreich,  Marj^,     ....  457 

Himrod,  Simon, 235 

Hoge,  Reverend  John,     .   .    .  368 

Holstein,  George, 400 

Hood,  Reverend, 549 

Hood,  Mrs.  Mary, 549 

Hoover,  Jolm, 436 

Housel,  Martin, 353 

Housel,  Captahi  William,   .    .  551 

Hudson,  George, 276 

Hunter,  Colonel  Samuel,    .    .  234 

Hunter,  Alexander, 390 

Huston,  Matthew, 385 

Hutchinson,  Mary, 385 

Id  dings,  Eve, 345 

Iddings,  Henrv, 443 

Irvine,  Williain, 297 

Irwin,  Esqviire,  William,    .    .  416 

Jenkins,  .Tames, 244 

Jenkins,  .James, 339 

Jenkin.s,  Phoebe, 335 

Jodon,  Peter, 3.53 

Jones,  Thomas, 512 

Jordon,  William, 335 

Katherman,  David, 368 

Keene,  Lawrence, 260 

Kelclmer,  Jonas, 539 

Kellv,  Mrs.  Sarah,      504 

Kelly,  Colonel  John .506 

Kenipling,  Captain  Thomas,  198 

Kcrstettcr,  Sebastian,    ....  251 

7\ ester,  (Jeor-ie, 297 

Kliuesmitli,  Hnltzer,      ....  189 

Kremcr,  Honorable  George,  .  5.55 

Laird,  Matthew, 2.5(5 

liang.s.  (ieorge,  (suicide,)    .    .  386 

Lashells,  Esquire,  .John,     .    .  .547 

Lathy,  William  Kent,  .    ...  384 

I>augliliii,  Snmuel, 185 

Jjauuliliii,  Esther, 345 

Lau-ililiu,  Adaui, 428 

Lce^  Jolm.  and  wile,     ....  210 

Lei)lcy,  Micliael, 170 

Lewis,  Paschal, 454 

Linn,  Jolm, 384 

Lotz,  Ulrich, 266 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


603 


Deaths— 

Lowdon,  Captain  John,   .    .    .  314 

Lukens,  John,  Surveyor  Gen.,  202 

McBeth,  Mrs.  Annie,    ....  374 

McCandlish.  senior,  William,  231 

McClellan,  James,      550 

McClonanhan,  James,   ....  235 

McOlcnaclian,  David,    ....  261 

McC'luro,  ]\lrs.  Jean,     ....  330 

McClure,  Roan, 512 

McClung,  John, 251 

McCracken,  Henry 193 

McCorley,  Robert, 281 

McCorley,  James, 374 

McGrady,  Alexander,  ....  276 

McGuire,  Thomas,      62 

McKee,  Thomas, 50 

McKim,  William, 368 

McKim,  Robert,     368 

McKnight, , 170 

McLaughlin,  vSamuel,  ....  185 

MoLaughlin,  William,     ...  179 

McLaughlin,  Hugh, 431 

Maclay,  Esquire,  William,     .  344 

Macpiierson,  Honorable,  John  493 

Madden,  Neal, 374 

Marshall,  James, 440 

Martin,  Aaron, 179 

Martin,  George, 352 

Merrill,  James, 538 

Metzgar,  Daniel,     374 

Miller,  Theobald,       296 

Miller,  Christian, 314 

Moore,  John, 514 

Morrison,  Reverend  Hugh,    .  344 

Morton,  Japhet, 431 

Motz,  George, 353 

Mumma,  John, 491 

Murphy,  John, 314 

Myers,  Henry, 390 

Myers,  David, 511 

Nevius,  Christian,      431 

Newcomer,  Bishop, 489 

Overmeier,  Captain  George,  .  353 

Patterson,  W.  A., 555 

Peters,  Henrv, 309 

Piatt,  Abraham, 310 

Polhemus,  Albert  and  Avife,  .  157 

Pollock,  Charles, 296 

Pollock,  John, 354 

Pontius,  Henry, 458 

Potter,  Major  General  James,  261 

Priestly,  Doctor  Joseph,  .    .    .  343 

Ranckj  senior,  John,     ....  256 

Ranck,  Adam, 385 

Ray,  George, 335 

Rearick,  John, 2.56 

Reasoner,  Davy, 408 

Reasoner,  James, 526 

Reedy,  Conrad, 385 

Rees,  Abel, 277 


Deaths — 

Rees,  Daniel, 344 

Rees,  Daniel, 436 

Richard,  Henry,      3.54 

Riddle,  George,       310 

Rodman,  William, 209 

Rorabau<i-h,  Philip, 453 

Rote,  George, 311 

Rotten,  Joseph, 62 

Row,  George, 193 

Sample,  John  and  wife,  .   .    .  170 

Sargent,  Charles, 514 

Sargent,  James, 501 

Seebold,  Christopher,  ....  417 

Selin,  Captain  Anthony,     .    .  276 

Shedacre  .Tacob, 163 

Shewel,  Adam, 353 

Shipton,  Thomas, 493 

Sierer,  John, 416 

Simpson,  John, 345 

Smilev.  Reverend  Thomas,    .  511 

Smith',  Peter, 50 

Smith,  .Tohn, 213 

Smith,  Adam, 261 

Smith,  Nicholas,     281 

Smith,  George, 293 

Smith,  Colonel  Matthew,    .    .  293 

Smith,  Anna  M., 297 

Smith,  Michael, 3.54 

Smith,  Esquire,  Daniel,  .    .    .  390 

Smith,  Albright, 390 

Smith,   Enoch, 439 

Snvder,  John, 251 

Soiilt,  David, 470 

Specht,  Adam 470 

Spyker,  Esquire,  Henrj-,    .    .  430 

Stanford,  Jacob,     153 

Steele,  William, 3.54 

Storms,  David 208 

Strawbridge,  Hon.  Thomas,  .  417 

Struble,  Peter, 549 

Struble,  Adam, 428 

Sutherland,  Thomas,    ....  4.36 

Swartz,  Peter, 345 

Swesey,  Daniel, 453 

Swineford,  .Tohn, 352 

vSwineford,  John, 386 

Swineford,  Jacob, 488 

Taggert,  Thomas, 293 

Tate,  Edward, 293 

Taveler,  Joseph,      310 

Templeton,  Samuel,      ....  490 

Thompson,  Captain  James,    .  198 

Thompson,  Jolm, 3.30 

Tliompson,  William,     ....  368 

Thom,  .Tames, 251 

Thom,  James, 277 

Thornburg,  John, 296 

Trinkle,  Mathias, 231 

Troxell,  George, 266 

Turner,  John, 428 


bo4 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Deaihs — 

Ultz,  Joseph, 374 

"\^an  Dorcn,  Thomas,     ....  163 

Vandyke,  Henry, 234 

Vandyke,  Lambert, 293 

Vanvalzah,  Doctor  Roljert,     .  551 

Vanvolsen,  Levi,  chikl  of,  .    .  281 

Vincent,  Isaac, 176 

Wales,  Jolm, 314 

Wales,  Mrs.  Mary, 491 

Walker,  John, 211 

Wallis,  Joseph  J., 390 

Walter,  John, 417 

Watson,  Patrick, 188 

Watson,  David, 417 

Weeks,  Joseph, 179 

Weirick,  John, 390 

Weirick,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,    .    .  435 

Weiser,  Christopher,    ....  442 

Weitzell,  Esquire,  Casper,  .    .  213 


Deaths — 

Wertz,  Deitrick, 845 

Weyland,  Michael,     ......  40 

Wierl)ach,  John, 267 

Wilson,  John, 48 

Wilson,  Thomas, 320 

Wilson,  Hugh,  (of  Buffalo,)  .  545 

Wilson,  Elizabeth, 430 

Wilson,  Honorable  Hugh,  .    .  545 

Wilson,  William, 470 

Wilson,  Thomas,  (Kelty,)  .    .  504 

Wilt,  George, 367 

Wolfe,  Jacob, 428 

Yost,  Casi>er, 209 

Young,  ISIatthew, 251 

Young,  Adam, 367 

Young,  James, 481 

Young,  Jolm,  . 527 

Youngman,  Elias, 457 

Yutten,  Jacob, 461 


Debate  at  Lewisburg, 492,523 

Debating  societies, 491 

Deed,  coj^y  of  Hawkins  Boone's, 52 

De  Haven,  Peter,  letter  of,     155 

Depreciation,  examples  of, 175 ,  184 

Derr,  Ludwig,      33,48 

"  *'        mill,  meeting  at, 56 

"  "        trading  house,  incident  at, 96 

"  "        mention  of, 237* 

Derr,  Christian,  notice  of, 452* 

Derr,  John,  death  of, 547 

Derrickson,  Mrs.  Mary,  account  of  capture  of  Fort  Freeland,     ....    176 

Dieffenbach,  Reverend  Jacob, 369 

Disbviry,  Joseph, 231 

Dixon,  Sankey, 243 

Dog  run,     7,32 

Domestic  incidents, 392,463 

Donnel,  Charles  a., 543 

Doudle,  Daniel, 387 

Dougherty,  Peter, 246 

Drcisbacirs  church, 39,253 

Droisl)ach,  Martin,      320 

Drouth,  severe, 488 

Dry  Valley,  post  office  established  at, 552 

Dubbendorif,  Reverend  Samuel,     185 

Duel,  Bimis-Rtewart, 347 

Duffield,  George,  D.  D.,  quoted, 226 

Duncan,  Esquire,  Thomas, ■  .    364 

Eakers,  Doctor  Josei^h, 26 

Eclipses, 514 

Egbert,  John,  stable  Imrned, 533 

Ejectment  cases,      33,35,52,54,74,195,203,313 

Election,  certificate  of  iirst, 96 

"        contested, 148,216,239 

"        return  of,  1783, 215 

"        returns,     288,334,373,437,448,457,400,463,522 

"        first,  under  new  constitution, 266 

"        districts, 310,312,456,526 

"        of  militia  offlcer.s,     539,540 

"        presidential, 496 

Electors,  choice  of  first  i:)residential, 257 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  bos 


Ellenkhusen,  Mathias  Joseph, 277 

Ely,  Reverend  Doctor  Ezra  Styles, 506 

Eiiierick  family  cai^tured,   .    / 201 

Emigration,  som-ces  of, 13 

"           to  the  West,     527 

Encaminnents, 480,539,544,550 

Etzweiler,  George,  killed, 185 

Evans,  Evan  Rice, 323 

"       Captain  Frederick,  at  Fort  McHenry, 420 

"  "  "  letters  to  George  Kremer, 405,462 

Ewing,  Jasper,  death  of,     326 

Ewig,  Christian,  notice  of, 452 

Factcjries,  woolen, 538 

Famine  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,     547 

Farley,  John,  qnoted, 247 

Ferrj'^  at  Sunl:)ury, 44 

"     landing  dispute,     313 

"      at  Lewisljurg, 274 

Fires,    166,335,493,495,525,533,539,543,545,550,555 

Fu-e  storm, 512 

Fisher's,  Paul,  statement, 157 

Fisher,  John, 157 

Fisher's,  Samuel,  mill  bm-ned, 166 

Fisher,  Esquire,  George,     364 

Flag  captui-ed  at  Monmouth,     '.  166 

Floods,  great, 232,488,513,546,548,552 

Follmer,  Thomas,  drowned, 546 

"         Henry,  drowned, 546 

Forest  iron-works,  began  building, 545 

"          "          "       in  hands  of  sheriff, 549 

"          "          "        sold, 550 

Forest  Ilill,  iiost-office  established  at, 551 

"          "     postmaster  at, 551 

Forster,  John,  incident  related  bv,     1^9 

"              "      deatli  of,    ....  ■^. 239 

"              "      killed, 187 

"         Lieutenant  Thomas, 122 

"          Captain  John,  api^ointed  postmaster, 555 

Fort  Augusta  built, 13 

"     Freeland  captured, 175 

"     Swartz,      193 

"     McHenry,  bombardment  of, 420 

"             "          Captain  Frederick  Evdns  at, 420 

Fought's,  Jacob,  mill, 34,38 

Fought's,  INIrs.  Michael,  narrative, 159 

Fought  and  Trinkle  murders, 206 

Foutz,  !Mrs.  Conrad, 494 

Freeburg,  residents  of, 331 

Freeman,  definition  of, 67 

Frederick,  Tliomas, 340 

French  Jacob's,  mill  attack  on, 185 

"            "          "      locality  of, 186 

Frick  &  Slifer's  boat-yard  removed  to  Lewisburg, 551 

Frick,  Slifer  &  Go's  steam  saw-mill  burned, 555 

Frost,  severe, 513 

Frick,  Genen.l  Henry,  death  of, 543 

Fries,  Reverend,     398,410,442 

"               "          obituary  of, 534 

Furnace  built, 555 

Gabriel,  George, 9,17,37 

Galbraith,  Bertram,  letter  of, 156 


bob  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Gazette,  Sunburj',  Northumberland,  publication  of,  commenced,    .    .  269 

Gazette,  Columbia,  publication  of,  commenced, 416 

GeisAveit,  Reverend  George, 1185 

German  regiment  at  Sun  bury, 179 

German  Reformed  churches, 252 

"               "               "            first  pastor  of, 259 

Gift,  Aaron  K..  account  of  Lepley, 170 

Gill,  William,  notice  of,   ....  " 23 

Gordon,  Isaac  G.,  notice  of, 542 

Grant,  Reverend  William  D.,  at  Lewisburg,      543 

Grave-vards — Dry  Run, 187 

Tvirtle  Creek,       200 

White  Deer,      240 

Presbyterian, 312 

Evangelical, 434 

German  and  Lutheran, 512 

Gray,  Lieutenant ^^'illiam,      119,224 

"       Captain  William,  death  of, 431 

"      Lieutenant  Colonel  Neigal, 232 

"      George, 245 

Green,  Joseph, 66,141,151,210 

"            "         death  of, 335 

"      George,  letter  from, 287 

"      General  Abbot,  elected  major  general, 539 

Green's  mill, 75 

Greenville  laid  out, 311 

Gregg,  Andrew,  marriage  of,  etc., 248 

Grier,  D.  D.,  Reverend  Isaac, 52,61,231,524,546 

Grocliong's,  Jacob,  Mill, 185,186 

Gi-ove,  Peter,  iDursuit  of  Indians,     191 

"       Michael,  kills  an  Indian, 192 

"       family  notice  of, 192 

Guelph's  mills,  action  near, 146 

Gund3',  Van  Christian,  recollections  of, 97,171 

"           "           "         notice  of, 242 

Gundy,  William,  drowned, 546 

Haine*s  townshiiJ,  formerly  Potter, 264 

Halfpenny,  J.  ct  M.,  woolen  factories, 538 

Hall,  Esquire,  Charles, 324,364 

Hammond,  Lieutenant  David,      81 

"          General  R.  H.,  death  and  burial  of, 548 

Harbaugh's  Fathers,  quoted, ' .    199,399 

Harbaugh,  Reverend Henrj', 543,548,550 

Harding,  General  Abner  C, 501 

Harris,  Honorable  William  L.,  death  of, 546 

Hartlej^  township,  formerly  Upjaer  Moreland, 61 

"     "          "          erected," 391 

"        Colonel  Thomas, 163,316 

"             "              "         expedition  of, 165 

Hartleton, 316 

Hayes,  John,  death  of, 544 

"      William,  store  robbed, 492 

"            "          death  of,  and  notice  of  family, 540 

"            "          incident  of  early  life, 542 

Heckewclder  quoted, 201 

Heim,  Reverend  John  G., 379 

Heiser,  H.,  appointed  postmaster, 552 

Heislor,  Reverend  D.  Y.,  (juoted, 286 

"                  "              "       installed, 551 

Herrold,  killed, 170 

Herrold  tavern  opened, 232 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  607 


Hetrick,  Christian,     66 

"  "  killed, 208 

Hickok,  Henry  C,  appointed  Deputy  Superintendent  Public  Schools,  Sort 

High's  mill  burned, 5o0 

Himrod,  Simon,  ■ 39,235 

Hoflta's  mills, 232 

Hood,  Reverend  Thomas,  ordination  of, 346 

'*  "  "        last  sermon, 524 

"  "  "        death  of,      549 

"        Mrs.  Marj^,  death  of, 549 

Horseraces, 496,499 

"         "        anti  association  formed, 500 

Hotels  mentioned, 480 

Housel,  CajJtain  William,  death  of, 551 

Hucks,  Captain,  tory,  killed, 42 

Hughes,  Napoleon,  develops  iron  ore, 539 

Huling,  Marcus, 114,245 

Hunt,  Reverend  Thomas  P.,  lectures  on  temperance, 537 

Hunter,  Colonel  Samuel,  letters  from, 143, 

144 , 153 , 154 , 156 , 174 , 175 , 179 , 184 ,207 

"  "  "        pursues  the  Indians, 211 

"  "  "        death  of, 234 

ImiDrovement  act  passed, 503 

Improvements, 39,283,333,433 

Inclian  tribes,  localities  of, 1 

"        paths, 6 

"        Muncy,  leave  the  Valley, 20 

"        Delawares,  withdraw, 20 

"        Six  Nations, 97 

"        re-appear  as  enemies, 151,153,154,171,184,201,207,210 

"        Muncy,  in  Canada,      201 

"        married  to  whites, 202 

"        outrages,     •_  •    208 

Independent  press  of  Lewisburg, 538,544 

Inhaljitants,  1775, f>7 

Insane  lad  in  House  of  Representatives, 346 

Insurance  company,  mutual  fire,  organized, 553 

Iron  ore,  develoimient  of, 539 

"      works,  Berlin,  first  metal  at, 545 

"  "  "         blown  out, 549 

"  "        Forest,  began  building, •   545 

"  "  "         in  hands  of  sheriff, 549 

"  "         sold, 550 

Irvine,  William,      297 

Irwin  &  Johnston, 35 

Isle  of  Que, 245 

Jack's  mountain,  name  how  derived, __8 

Jackson  township  erected, 555 

Jail,  appropriation  for,      ^^ 

Jay's  treaty, 295 

Jefferson's  election,  rejoicing  over, 327,342 

Jenkins'  mill, 221 

Johnson,  Sanuiel,  tried  for  firing  a  barn, 469 

Jones,  Esquire,  Isaac  G., 524 

Journal,  Conrad  Weiser's, 2 

"        Ricliard  Miles', ^    53 

"        Major  Ennion  Williams',      63,84 

Fldvel  Roan's, 338,359,379,388,397,407 

Jurors,  grand,  list  of, 43,51,53,127,151 

«  "       petition  for  appointment  of  judge, 513 

"      traverse,  list  of,     51,53,151,231 


6o8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO   VALLEY. 


Keene,  Major  Lawrence,  prothonotary, 214 

Kelly,  tirst  settlers  in, 34,53 

Kelly,  ColonelJohn, 30,141,144,153,179 

"             "            "      at  Princeton, 139 

"            "           "      pursues  the  Indians, 172 

"            "           "      kills  one  near  his  cabin, 172 

"             "           "      toast  of,      327 

"             "           "      sketch  of,      506 

"             "           "     monument  erected  to, 524 

Kelly,  senior,  James,  opens  temperence  hotel  in  Lewisburg,     ....  545 

Kelly,  jNIrs.  Sarah,      504 

Kelly  township  reported  as  Pike, 461 

"             "        erected, 462 

Kempling  or  Keinplon,  Captain — See  Campleton. 

Kennedy's Gaze'tti' suspciKkMl  temporarily,  [finally  in  1817,]     ....  416 

Kennedy,  A.,  appointed  postmaster,      .    ." 549 

Kerstetter,  George,  notice  of, 453 

Kester,  George,  bequest  of, 297 

Kleckner,  ]M.,  barn  burned, 543 

Kelchner,  Jonas,  death  of, 539 

Klinesmith,  Baltzer,  killed,   ' 189 

"                   "        notice  of  his  daughters, 190 

Krenier,  Honorable  George,  death  of, 555 

Lafayette  lodge,  officers  of, 500 

Laird,  Mattliew,  notice  (if,  and  family, 255 

Laird,  Jlevereiid  Matthew,  sails  for  Africa, 512 

Lane,  Elder  William, 539 

Land  office,  new  purchase, 28 

"      locations,  drawing  of, 32 

"      valuation  of, 60 

Lashells,  Estxuire,  John,  death  of, 547 

Laughlin,  Samuel,  killed, 185 

Lawyers,  sketches  of, 363 

"         i^eculiarities  of, 481 

Lechmere  Point,  skirmish  at, 82 

Lee,  Major  John, 126,204 

"        "          "       and  wife  killed, 210 

"    Thomas, 211 

Lennox,  George,      453 

Leple}',  Michael,  killed, 170 

Leroy,  Jacob, 9 

"       John, 9 

"       Anna  M.,  affidavit  of,     12 

Levy,  Esquire,  Daniel, 365 

Lewisburg  laid  out, 237 

"  residents  of, 238, 

242 , 253 , 269 , 279 , 282 , 301 , 322 , 332 , 337 , 354 , 356 , 370 , 379 , 387 

"           survey  made  of, 254 

*'           merchants  in, 311 

"           first  postmaster  at, 312 

"  incorporated,     406,456 

"           sketch  of,  in  1787, 254 

"           University,  act  incorporating,  passed, 546 

»'           Academy, 546 

"  postmaster  at, 548,549 

"           cemetery  at, 549 

'«           Chronicle,  publication  of,  began, 543 

"           Universitv,  extension  of, 556 

"           sketch  of,''in  1813, 413 

"           explosion  in  drug  store  at, 525 

«'           lecture  at, 526 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  bog 


Lewis,  Judge  Ellis,  commission  read, 513 

License,  apijlications  for, 43,51,107 

"        vote  for  and  against, 547 

Lieutenants  of  the  county  ajjpointed,  and  subs, 127 

Limestone  to'v\Tiiship,  original  settlers  of,     ....      7(5 

"  "  erected, 550 

Lincoln,  Lieutenant  Hananiah, 124 

"         Mishael, 169 

Line  of  Indian  purchase, 17 

Linn,  Jolin,  notice  of, 453 

"      J.  F.,  diary  of,      550 

Locusts  appear, 418,455,530 

Logan,  son  of  Sliikellimy, 5 

"       death  of,  .... " 5 

Loskiel  quoted, 4 

Lottery,  Derr's, 238 

"        for  imijrovement  of  Penn's  creek,     <856 

"        advertisements,      487 

Lowdon,  Captain  John, 49 

"  "  "      copy  of  his  commission, 79 

"  "  "      roll  of  his  comjiany,      79 

"  "  "      letter  to,  from  Hooper  &  Haines, 83 

"  "  "      company  mustered  out, 85 

"  "  "      letter  to,  from  Si^eaker  Jacobs,    .......    126 

"  "  "      sketch  of, 314 

Lukens.  John,  death  of, 262 

Lutheran  churches, 253,430,534,543 

Lutz,  A.  H.,  appointed  postmaster, 551 

McCabe,  Esquu-e,  R.  B.,  sketches, 97,168 

McCandlish,  George,     94 

"  William,  house  built,     74 

"  "         231 

McClellan,  Esquire,  James, 393 

"  "  "     death  of, 550 

McClune's,  James,  school, 526 

McClure,  Alexander,  appointed  postmaster, 548 

McCracken,  Henrv,  killed, 193 

McCormick,  Seth,' 246 

"  Thomas, 246 

McHarge,  Joseph,  soldier, 167 

JNIcHenry,  Henry, 211 

McKim,  ]\Iiller,  delivers  abolition  lecture, 527 

Mack  and  Grube,  journal  of, 5 

Maclay,  Honorable  Samuel,  sketch  of,     401 

Maclay,  William,  letters  of, 155 ,  175 

"  "         Native  American  letter, 184 

"  "         elected  United  States  Senator, 255 

"        R.  P.,  appointed  associate  judge  of  Clarion  county, 549 

Macphersdn,  John,  (Judge,) 166,493 

Mahantango  township,  inhabitants  of, 308,332 

Mails,  arrival  and  departure  of, 327,434 

Manor,  survey  in  Valley, 18 

Manufactures"^  &c.,  review  of, 269 

Market  quotations, 432,441, 

455 , 457 , 459 , 497 , 503 , 513 , 529 , 539 , 543 , 544 , 546 , 547 , 549 , 551 , 552 , 555 , 556 

"       public  at  New  Berlin, 432 

Marr,  Reverend  P.  B.,  ordained  and  installed, 514 

Marriages — 

Alsbach,  William,  Catherine  Shivel\', -190 

Alter,  Jacob,  Ann  Kessler, 438 

Amberg,  Hezekiah,  Elizabeth  Brooks,     485 

39 


6/0  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Marriages — 

Amberg  Abraham,  Charlotte  Brooks, 500 

Apple,  Daniel,  Susan  Orwig,     486 

Aurand,  George,  Mary  Roj-er, 500 

Baldy,  General  Christopher,  Eve  Metzgar, 384 

Barber,  Thomas,  Betsy  Clingan, 411 

Barry,  Elisha,  Elizabeth  Ilerbst, 430 

Beeber,  John,  Anna  Baker, 428 

Benner,  Mathias,  Elizabeth  Overmeier, 486 

Benner,  Henry,  Mary  Royer, 500 

Billman,  Jacob,  Charity , 416 

Billmyer,  Martin,  Margaret  Hinnnelreioh, 367 

Black,  David,  Catlierine  Berry, 411 

Bower,  Joseph,  Susanna  Maehainer, 384 

Bower,  Moses,  Catherine  Moyer,     390 

Bower,  George,  Polly  Smith, 390 

Breyvogel,  Jacob,  Susanna  Baldy, 329 

Brobst,  John,  Lydia  Marriner, 367 

Brown,  Peter,  Catherine  Kautz, 373 

Burd,  Levi,  Eve  Winegardner, 416 

Burnside,  Thomas,  Mary  Fleming, 367 

Caldwell,  James,  Isabella  Duncan, 490 

Candor,  Thomas,  Margaret  ISIontgomery, 485 

Chamberlin,  Aaron,  Betsy  Dale, 411 

Chamberlin,  John,  Eliz;xbeth  Hayes, 490 

Chamberlin,  Josejjli,  Nancy  Deal, 495 

Charles,  C.  H.,  Juliette  Maim, 500 

Chestney,  Jacob  G.,  Juliana  Cummings, 486 

Christ,  Esquire,  L.  B.,  Esther  Bogar, 500 

Coasin,  Ludwig,  Susanna  OliiDhant, 354 

Cochran,  junior,  John,  Anna  M.  Grove, 400 

Dale,  James,  Eliza  Bell, 441 

Davis,  William,  Catherine  Derr, 400 

Derr,  Jacob,  Isabella  Hunter, 495 

Dersham,  Samuel,  Susanna  Shadel, 416 

Devling,  John,  Mary  Wilson, 490 

Devling  Walter,  Eliza  Wilson,     499 

Dickson,  Jesse,  Polly  Merkle, 416 

Donachy,  Alexander,  Fanny  Seitz, 416 

Dreisbach,  Daniel,  Katy  Drcishaeh, 330 

Dreisbacli,  Martin,  Eliz;il)eth  Kleckner,  . 470 

Duncan,  James,  Sophia  Maxwell, 485 

Duncan,  David,  Susan  Hayes, 495 

Duim,  Washington,  Betsy  Musser,     390 

Englemaii,  Michael,  Barbara  Gilman, 411 

Epler,  Pi'ter,  i:ve  Christ, 352 

Evans,  Evan  Kice,  Mrs.  Forrest,      400 

Forster,  Robert,  Jane  Rutherford, 499 

Forstcr,  John,  ^largarot  Vanvalziih, 495 

Francis,  William,  ( 'atluTiiio  Gettig, 435 

Frederick,  I'liilij),  i'liristcna  Brown,      384 

Freedly,  John,  Elizabetli  Lelnnan, 373 

Freedly,  George,  Catherine,  Frantz, 373 

Fruit,  Rol>ert,  Maria  Nevius, 411 

Goodhmdcr,  Paul,  Rachel  Heckel, 416 

Gregg,  An(h-e\v,  Martha  I'otter, 248 

Grier,  Thomas,  Rachel  Stratton, 490 

Grier,  Doctor  Joseph  F.,  Margaret  Graham, 499 

Grove,  Ibuirv,  Hannah  Ijcisenring, 3S4 

Grove,  Simon,  Mar_\-  Miller, 500 

Grove,  John,  Sarah  Montgomery, 411 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  bii 


Marriages — 

Grove,  Conrad,  Mary  Gingerich, 461 

Gutelius,  John  P.,  Maria  Aurand 461 

Hammond,  Lievitenant  R.  H.,  Ann  Eliza  Duncan, 457 

Haus,  John,  Margaret  Roush, 495 

Haj^es,.  Robert,  Emily  Fields, 500 

Hayes,  John,  Jane  McFadden,     .*  .    .  435 

Hepburn,  Samuel,  Ann  Clay, 400 

Highland,  William,  ^Nlarv  Gann,      390 

Hill,  Daniel  K.,  Barbani'Musser, 500 

Hoffman,  Michael,  Lydia  Wagner, 461 

Housel,  John,  Margaret  Musser, 493 

Howard,  Thomas,  Elizabeth  Harris, 311 

Hutchinson,  Samuel,  Jennie  Wallace, 390 

Jodon,  Francis,  Elizabeth  Cherry, 416 

Johnston,  John,  Elizabeth  Kress, 433 

Jordan,  Nathan,  Hannah  Smith,      470 

Keenly,  Daniel,  Maria  Richter, 416 

Kelly,  James,  Hannah  Seitz,     411 

Kelly,  William,  Margaret  Allison,     486 

Kemj),  Titus,  Betsy  Huntingdon, 435 

Kii"k,  William,  Jane  Knox, 330 

Kreechbaum,  Peter,  Elizabeth  Davis, 367 

Keechbaum,  George,  Polly  Keller, 367 

Laird,  Reverend  Matthew,  Harriet  Myer, 512 

Lawshe,  John,  Polly  Seitz, 352 

Lawson,  James,  Nancy  Clingan, 411 

Lesher,  Philip,  Polly  Billmyer, 416 

Lewis,  Paschall,  Elizabeth  Boude, 258 

Linn,  William,  Jane  Morrow, 470 

Linn,  John,  Mary  F.  Chamberlin, 486 

Linn,  James  F.,  Margaret  Wilson, 490 

Long,  Peter,  Sarah  Moore,      438 

Ludwig,  Daniel,  Sarah  Hoffman, 486 

Mackey,  Mr.,  Abigail  Iddings, 495 

Maclay,  John,  Annie  Dale, 411 

Maclay,  Robert  P.,  Margaret  C.  Lashells, 486 

Magee,  Captain  James,  Elizabeth  Strayhorn, 470 

Magee,  John,  Susan  Struble, 493 

Maize,  John,  Eliziibeth  Jones, 486 

Martin,  David,  Jane  McClung,     208 

Martin,  Lawrence,  Polly  Juge, 384 

Mauck,  David,  Nancy  Shriner, 486 

Mauek  Jesse,  Catherine  Crotzer, 490 

Merrill,  James,  Sarah  Hepburn, 490 

Metzgar,  Abner,  Eleanor  Lawshe, 495 

Meyer,  Michael,  Sarah  Kelley, 390 

Miller,  William,  Elizabeth  Myers, 495 

Mitchel,  George,  Eliza  Anderson, 438 

Mook,  Daniel,  Mary  Dietfenbach, 486 

Mook,  George,  Julia  Fastnock, 430 

Moore,  Lewis,  Dorothy  Smith,     457 

Montgomery,  Robert,  Nancy  Knox, 384 

Moyer,  Henry,  Polly  Strickland, 435 

Mussena,  Henry  B.,  Elizabeth  Winter, 486 

Myers,  Henry,  Hannah  Walter, 500 

Myers,  Peter,  Sophia  Nixon, 373 

McBeth,  Andrew,  Ann  Linn, 438 

McCorniick,  Saul,  Catherine  Hood, 493 

McLaughlin,  Hugh,  Frances  Derr, 495 

McLauglilin,  Hugh,  Elizabeth  McAllister,     416 


6i2  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Marriages — 

Nesbit,  William,  Nancy  Musser, 373 

Nesbit,  David,  Marv  jNIusser, 485 

Orwig,  John,  Maria"^  Bright, 486 

Peters,  Isaac,  Susan  Miller, 470 

Pontius,  Conrad,  Mary  Seebold, .  470 

Ranck*  John,  Nancy  Luther, 384 

Ranck,  Joel,  Sarah  Long, 390 

Ranck,  Jonathan,  Catherine  Long,     430 

Reedy,  Jonathan,  Amelia  Buckner, 490 

Rees,  Jacob,  Elizabeth  Williamson, 430 

Renner,  Frederick,  Magdalena  Krause, 354 

Roush,  Samuel,  Elizabeth  Dunkle, 438 

Row,  John,  Rachael  Kunkle, 486 

Selin,  Anthony,  Catherine  Yoner, 390 

Sergeant,  John,  Catherine  Beyer, 354 

Shannon,  Daniel,  Cliristena  Pross, 430 

Shaw,  John,  Margaret  Baker, 500 

Sheckler,  Tobias,  Catherine  Fredericks, 296 

Shriner,  Daniel,  Catherine  Funston, 435 

Sierer,  John,  Louisa  McMillan, .  384 

Snyder,  John,  Margaret  Hammond, 490 

Snyder,  John,  Mary  Kittera, 441 

Snyder.  George,  Anna  Ellen  Duncan, 457 

Snvder,  Simon,  Catherine  Antes, 309 

Stahl,  Philip,  Susanna  Spotz, 390 

Steadman,  AVilliam  C,  Elizabeth  Wilson, 470 

Straub,  Michael,  Sarali  Grove, 354 

Strawbridge,  Mr.,  Louisa  Maus, 486 

Strayer,  .Jacob,  Rachael  Harmony, 435 

Strayhorn,  Peter, Cornelius, 499 

Strickland,  Samuel,  Elizabeth  Turner, 430 

Swartz,  Peter,  Magdalena  Weyland, 49 

Thompson,  William,  Susan  Linn, 342 

Troxell,  George,  Marv  liollman, 354 

Updike,  Elijah,  Elizalu'th  Snook, 400 

Vandj'ke,  John,  Margaret  Adams, 384 

Vanvalzali,  John  A.,  Rebecca  Chambers, 500 

Wagner,  Jacob,  Raohaol  M(rGuire, 461 

Walters,  .John,  Susanna  Mover, 435 

Welir  Jacob,  Margaret  Snssi'nan, 430 

Weiser,  Conrad,  Elizabeth  Snyder, 390 

Wetze .,  Jonathan,  Hettie  Ilott, 486 

Wilsf:n,  Hugh,  Catheruie  Irvine, 266 

Wilson,  Thomas,  Mrs. Drake, 493 

M'ilson,  William,  Ruth  Waddell, 499 

Woods,  junior,  Cliristoplier,  Maria  Little, 500 

Yarger,  John,  Margaret  Kelly, 493 

Yost,  Jolm,  Sarah  Shaffer, 490 

Zerbe,  Henry,  Susanna  Heckel, 373 

Zentmyer,  Israel,  Eve  Snook, 500 

Masonic  proce&sion, 493 

"          Anti,  excitement,     498 

''            "     delegate  meeting, 519 

Maynard's  Clinton  <v)unty  quoted,      267 

Meeting,  anti  school,      514 

"            "           "       resolutions  adopted, 515 

"            "           "       delegates,  ILst  of, 516 

"            "      Masonic  delegate, 519 

"         natiA'e  American, 544 

"  .       railroad,  at  MiJllinburg,      546 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  613 


Meeting,  railroad,  at  Lewisburg,     552 

"                "         New  Berlin, 553 

"                "          Potters's  fort, 554 

Meginness' West  Brand!  quoted, 178,191,192,210,232,283 

Merrill,  James,  address  of, 50(5 

"             "        death  of, 538 

Meteoric  shower, 512 

Meteor  at  New  Berlin, 483 

Mexican  war,  soldiers  in, 547 

Middleburg,  residents  of, 331 

Middle  creek,  uHas  Christunn, 12 

Mifflinburg  laid  out,      274 

residents  of, 279,282,318,355,370,379,387 

"              first  court  held  at, 418 

"              Academy,  act  establishing,  passed, 492 

"              incorporated,      492 

Miles,  Colonel  Samuel 13 

"      Richard,  journal, 53 

Military  record,  1861-5, 580 

MUitiaofficers,      90,102,104,108,241 

"      elections, 525,539,540 

"      companies  of  Valley, 539 

Miller,  Philip,  appointed  court^crier, 448 

Miller,  George  F.,  barn  burned, 545 

Millerisni  excitement, 542 

Mills  built— Fousiht's, 38 

Smith's,      fiO 

Titzell's, fi2 

Barber's, 193 

Weiser's  fulling, 243 

Farley's,  John, 247 

Farley's,  Caleb, 258 

Chillisquaque, 251 

Penn's  creek, 311 

Barber's,  Robert, 311 

Wilt's, 327 

steam  flour, 554 

Mingo,  White,  murder  of, 24 

Minutes  of  the  Committee  of  Safety, 99,127 

Mitman,  J.  M..  appointed  postmaster, 548 

INfizener,  Adam,  captured, 188 

]M< )]ickt on.  Colon I'l,  sword  of, Ifi2 

iSlonmouth,  l)attle  of, 159 

jNIontelius,  Honorable  John,  address  to  electors, 530 

Montour,  John, l'^9 

Moore,  Colonel  James,  quoted, 3,283 

INIorgan,  Jacob,  letter  from, 153 

Morrison,  Reverend  IIui;h, 248 

""      his  call, 249 

"                  "                "       sermons  of, 284 

"       difficulty  Avith  Maclay, 296,318 

"                 "               "       dismissed, 329 

Morton,  Johnny,  sketch  of, 501 

Mountains,  mention  of, 8 

Mumma,  Esquire,  John,  death  of, 491 

Musser's  distillery  burned, ■''39 

Necrology  of  the'Buflfalo  Valley, .^'•'4 

Nesbit's,  fire  at, 335 

Nevin,  Doctor  John  W.,  preaches  in  Lewisburg,      547 

New  Berlin,  residents  of, 283,301,322,832,337,356,370,387 

"          "       courts  at, 429 


bi4  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


New  Berlin,  plan  of,  made, 433 

"  "       showman  at, 482 

"  "       meteor  at, 483 

"  "        incorporated,  May  16,  1837. 

Newcomer,  Bishop,  visits  Valley, 299,325,413,429,434,489 

Newspapers — Kennedy's  Gazette,  suspended  temporarily,     416 

Columbia  Gazette  hejian  publication, 416 

Andrew  Kenncfl  vs.  junior, 418 

Union  Hickory-  removed  to  Lewisburg, 497 

S anbury  Northumberland  Gazette  began  publication,      269 
"  "  "      suspended,    ....    416 

Union  Times, 4o7 

editors  of, 480,522,539 

Lewisburg  Journal  published, 501 

People's  Advocate,  at  Lewisburg,  suspended, 538 

Independent  Press  began  ijublication, 538 

"  "     editors  of, 544 

Lewisburg  Chronicle  began  publication, 543 

*'  "         editor  of, 543,548,550,556 

Pittsburgh  Daily,  editor  of 544 

Items  from  Heiiry  Sliaup's  Union, 432 

Union  Star  sold, 549 

LTnion  Democrat,  editor  of, 549 

The  Guardian, 550 

Northumberland  county  erected, 40 

"  "        first  officials  of,      41 

"  "  "     courts  held  in,      . 42 

"  "  "    sheriff  of, 44 

"  "  "    suits  in, 44 

"  «'       bar,  sketches  of, 323 

"  "       recruiting  in,      151 

"  "       divided  into  election  districts, 238 

Officers,  application  for  land, 26 

"        grant  of  land  to,     •_     27 

"        survey  of  land, 30,37 

'<  "       meeting,  reference  to, 36 

"        militia,  elected, 525,539 

Officials,  list  of, 558 

Orders,  general,  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Weirick's  order  book,     .    .    426 

0\criii('i('r"s,  Mrs.,  statement, 187 

Faol)  massacre, 143 

Parr,  Major  James, 33,81 

"  '"'  "        roll  of  his  company,      86 

Pastors  of  Baptist  clmrch, 371 

Pattor.son,  Ca])tain  Samuel,  momunent  erected  to, 537 

W.  A.,deat)iof, 555 

Pealer,  Captain,  in  Nittany  valley, 154 

Pence,  Peter, 8 

Penn,  Thomas  and  Ricliard,  purclia.se  from  Six  Nations,     26 

Penn's  creek  niassiuM'e, S 

"  r(^si(U'nts  on, 10 

"  |)ul)li(!  highway, 36 

"  ai)pi-oi)riations  for  improvements, 497 

Penn's  to\vnshii),scUl('rs()f, 23,37,40 

i).)un(Isof,     42 

"  list  of  inhabitants, 91,150, 

1  Sii ,  1 94 ,  209 , 2 1 4 ,  237 ,  242 ,  245 ,  253 ,  263 ,  269 ,  280 ,  284 ,  294 ,313 
Pensioners,  TTnited  States,  residing  in  Uni<jn  county- in  1840,     ....    537 

Pennsylvania  (convention, 65 

Phieemer,  KeA'erend  .lolni  (J., '.^"5 

Pickering's  life,  <nioted, 242 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  613 


Pickhard,  John,  case  of, 137 

"  Nicholas,  case  of, 138 

Piscataway,  skirmishes  at, 141,143 

Pittsburgh  Daily,  editor  of, 544 

Plunket,  William,  expedition  to  Wyoming, 87 

"  "         notice  of, 271 

Poak,  James,  famUy  of, 213 

Pohlhemus,  Albert,  family, 157 

Pollock,  John,  opens  store, 294 

"        Hugh,  pviblishes  pamphlet, 538 

"        Reverend  Hugh,  takes  charge  of  Lewisburg  Academy,   .   .    .    537 

Political  notes,      54, 7r.,  147, 257, 

26(3, 280, 282, 287, 295, 310, 312, 319, 325, 334, 351, 356, 369, 371, 434, 4:'.(), 
448,455,456,459,463,487,489,493,497,499,501,505,519,525,520,527, 
529,533,538,540,543,544,545,546,548,549,550,552,553,554,555,557 

Pontius,  Pliilip,  statements, 187 

"         Henry,  notice  of, 458 

Poor-house,  vote  for  and  against, 550 

Post-offices  established, 551,552 

Potter  townsliii^,  erected, 53 

"  "  name  changed, 264 

Potter,  General  James, 142,144,151,243 

"  •'  "       letters  to  and  from,  .    .    .    .145,146,154,163,174,200 

"  "  "        death  of, 261 

Presbyterian  church,  Cross-Roads, 51,60,231,250,270,433 

"  "        Lewisburg, 505,511 

"  "        at  New  Berlin, 538,543 

Presbytery  of  Northumberland,  formed,     391 

Prices  current,     432,441,455, 

457,459,497,503,513,529,539,543,544,546,547,540,551,552,555,556 

Price,  Sergeant  Tliomas, 119 

Priestly,  Doctor  Joseph, 343 

Princeton,  battle  at, 139 

Proliibitory  liquor  law,  vote  for  and  against 555 

Pumpkins,  big, 534 

Purchases,  1754, 8 

1758, 16 

1768, 26 

Quinn,  Esquire,  David,  incident  related  by, 158 

"       Samuel,  commissioned, 194 

Quinn's  rvm,  origin  of  name,      194 

Raliauser,  Reverend  Jonatlian, 259 

Railroad  incorporated, 526 

"        survey  began, 526 

"        Sunbury  and  Erie,  subscription  to,      526 

"        Lewisburg,  Centre,  and  Spruce  Creek,  incorporated,  ....    554 
"  "  "  "  survey  began,    .    .    .    554 

Read,  William,  case  of, 135 

Real  estate,  valuation  of,  by  townships, 5'^\ 

Reasoner,  James,  accident  to,    . 52(> 

Reber,  Samuel,  opens  hotel, 501 

Red  Bank  run, 25 

Reed  family, 25 

Reger,  Elias,  notice  of,      -453 

Reicliel,  Reverend  W.  C,  notice  of, 19 

Reily,  General, 544 

Revival  at  Lewisbvirg, 543 

Revolutionary  soldiers,  notices  of, 449 

«'  "        at  fourtli  of  July  celebration, 505 

"  struggle  inaugurated,     76 

Rifle  battalion,  notice  of,     82 


6ib  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Rifle  battalion,  standard  of,  described, 85 

Riflemen,  ordered  to  be  raised, .  78 

"         enlisted  at  Derr's  mill, 78 

River,  improvement  of  the, 260 

Road — Fort  Augusta  to  Lj^coming  creek, 44 

Derr's  to  Narrows, 51,65 

Great  Plains  to  Sunbury, 51 

Reuben  Haines, 65 

Bald  Eagle  to  Sunbur3% 86 

Head  of  Penn's  vallev  to  J.  Davidson's  ferrv,     ....    251,252,259 
Lewisburg,  by  Cross-Roads,  to  Mifllinburg,  252 ,487 ,495 ,490 ,497 ,499 

Shirtz,  at  Narrows,  to  Colonel  Clarke's  lane, 252 

Jenkins'  mill  to  M.  and  L.  road, 327 

Milton  to  Derrstown  and  Mitflinburg  road, 335 

Jenkins' mill  to  Michael  Smith's, 337 

Gepliart's  to  turnpike, 346 

Brush  valley  to  James  Irwin's, 274 

Wolfe's  tavern  to  Bufl'alo  creek, 274 

Rockey's  mills  to  Reznor's, 418 

Reznoi-'s  saw-mill  to  Brush  valley  and  Mifllinburg  road,   .    .    .  418 

Bellefonte  to  White  Deer  creek, 4(i3 

Lewisburg  to  Selinsgrove, 497 

Mortousvillo,  by  Hugh  Wilson's  and  Derr's, 418,501 

Cliamberliii's  mill  to  Kelly's  saw-mill, 499 

Turtle  creek, 501 

State,  Heverling's  mill  to  Elk  creek, 537 

Sugar  Valley  and  White  Deer, 552 

Roan,  Flavel, 243 

"            "        poetry  of, 292 

"  "        journal  of, 338,359,379,388,397,407 

Robb's,  Robert,  case, 115,127 

Robinson,  John, 543 

Roll  of  Ca2:)tain  John  Lowdon's  company, 79 

"          "        James  Parr's  company, 86 

"    twelfth  Pennsylvania, 124 

"     Captain  John  Clarke's  company, 121 

"    soldiers  captured  at  Fort  Freeland, 179 

"    Captain  James  Thompson's  company, 188 

"          "        Casper  Weitzel's  company, 118 

"          "        B.  Weiser's  company, 140 

"          "        Peter  Grove's  company, 206 

"          "        Samuel  McGrady's  comi>anv, 206 

"    Rangers, ". 207 

"    Captain  Lowdon's  company,  1784, 233 

"          "        Donaldson's  company,  1812, 40S 

"          "        Middleswarth's  company,  1812, 410 

"    Field  and  statt"  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Weirick's  regi- 
ment,       421 

"     Captain  Henry  Miller's  company, 421 

"          "        Jacol>  Hummol's  company, 422 

"          "        Valentine  Haas' company, 423 

"          "        John  Bcrgstressor's  company, 424 

"          "        Williiiin  V.  liuyiTs'  company, 425 

"          "        Ncr  Middleswarth's  company, 427 

l{o])(' dancer  at  New  Berlin, 464 

llorabaugh,  Philip,  notice  of, 453 

"       l)uned, 527 

Rote,  George,  and  his  sister  captured, 199 

Row,  George,  killed,     193 

Royal  Grenadiers' flag  captured,      159 

Runisey,  John, 245 


ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  6/7 


Runaway,  the  Great,  1778, 154,176 

Rupp,  I.  D.,  quoted, 13 

Suit-works, 480 

Sample,  Jolm,  and  wife  killed, 171 

Sargent,  John,  removes, 525 

Sawyer,  Thomas, 499 

Schools, 297,359,413,460 

School,  anti,  meeting  of, 514 

"  "  "  resolutions  adopted  at, 515 

"  "     delegate  meeting,     516 

"  "     delegates,  list  of, 516 

"        vote  for  and  against, 518,536 

"        first  county  superintendent  of,      555 

"        Deputy  Superintendent  of  Public, 556 

Scull's  map, 36 

Seebold,  Philip, 159 

Selin,  Captain  Anthony, 276  ^^i- 

Selinsgrove,  residents  of,    . 332 

"  incorporated, 492 

first  hotel  in, 232 

Seminary,  Union,  at  New  Berlin,  established, 556 

Settlers,  "early,  Penn  townsliip, 23 

"       of  Vallev, 33,39,49,50,53,54,62 

"        first  Baptist,     ? 283 

Shamokin.  now  Sunbnry, 2 

"  original  name  of  tlie  country, 7 

Shaefter,  Reverend  Samuel, 546 

Shikelliiny,  Viceroy, 2 

"  residence  of, 2 

"  removes  to  Shamokin, 4 

"  death  of, 20 

Shikellim3''s  old  town,     3,32 

Shikellimy,  Loskiel's  notice  of, 4 

Shi vely.  Christian,  statement  of, 187,189 

"        John,  carried  away, 199 

Slioemaker,  Charles  L.,    .  ' 549 

Showman  at  New  Berlin, 482 

Sliows,  cliaracter  of, 527 

Skeleton  found, 555 

Slaves,     74,242,299 

Slenker,  Honorable  Isaac, 495 

Smith,  Catherine,  petition  of, 240 

"       Widow,  mills, 60,175,240 

"  "        petition  of,     240 

"      Anna  M.,  bequest  of, 297 

"      Esquire,  Charles,  sketch  of, 363 

"      Enoch,  sketch  of,      439 

"      Ann,  alias  Carson,  arrested, 433 

"      Adain,  sketch  of, :    453 

"      Micliael,  statement  of, 203 

"      Matthew,  letters  of,      155,186 

"  "  specimen  record  of, 209 

"      John,  of  Buffalo,  family  of, 213 

"      Daniel, 323,365 

Snyder,  Governor  Simon,  letter  from,  to  George  Kremer, 434 

■"  "  "        sketch  of, 443 

"         Antes, 446 

"         George  A.,  extracts  from  manuscript, 190, 

464,479,482,484,502,527,530,542 

"         John,  heirs  of,  law  suit,  vs.  Sunon  Snj^der, 465 

Snyder  county,  erected,      556 


6i8  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


Snowstorms, 495,527,536,544 

Social  incidents, 392,463 

Society,  Union  County  agricultural, 528,554 

"         Susquehanna  Bible,  formed, 433 

"         deliating, 491 

Soldiers,  revolutionary,  notices  of, 449 

"          list  of,  from  Union  county  in  Mexican  War, 547 

Soult,  David, 470 

S2)angenberg,  Reverend  Cyriacus,  notice  of, 217 

"                      "                "           executed  for  murder, 218 

Spalding,  Captain  Simon,  testimony, 217 

Speddy,  William, 46 

Spyker,  Henr^^,  house  built,     294 

"            "          notice  of, 439 

Stanford,  Jacob,  killed, 153 

Starret's  mill  burned, 175 

Steam  flour-mill  built,      554 

Straubstown,  residents  of, 331 

Stevens,  Ephraim, 481 

Still  bursted, 492 

Stonv  Point  captured, 175 

Storins,  David,  killed, 208 

Storm,  heavy  north-east,     552 

Stove,  Hathaway  coolcing,  manufacture  of  begun, 539 

Strickland,  Timothv, 453 

Strubble,  Peter,  death  of, 549 

Stump,  Frederick,  murders  by, 24 

Suits,  act  passed  transferring  all  unsettled,  to  Union  count}', 418 

Sullivan,  General,  letter  from, " 174 

Sunbury  laid  out, 43 

"          Northumberland  Gazette, 269 

Sunderland,  Daniel, 247 

Supreme  Court  justices  opinion  of  Ritner, 498 

"         personnel  of  justices  of, 498 

"          middle  district  created,     356 

Surveys,  first, 19,28 

"         officers,  made, 30 

"  early,     34,38,48,52,61,75,237 

Surveyors,  deputy,  appointed, 257 

Susquehanna  declared  a  liighway, 36 

"               survey  of,      264 

Swan,  Samuel,     246 

Swartz,  Peter,  marriage  of, 49 

"            "      house  burned,     157 

Swartzel,  Esquire,  H., 47 

Swesey,  Daniel,  notice  of, 453 

Swineford's  liotel, 247 

"            murder  of,      488 

Swinefordstown,  residents  of, 331 

Switzer  run, 7 

"         tract, 74 

Synod,  Pliiladelphia,  met  at  Lewisburg, 548 

Taggert,  M.  II.,  appointed  postmaster,      552 

Tannery  burned, 525 

Tan-vard  at  Buffalo  Cross-Roads, 279 

Tate,"  Edward, 210 

Taxablcs,  cnumoration  of,  by  townships, 551 

Taylor,  Tliomas,  anecdote  of, 488 

Teedyuscung,  king  of  the  Dclawares, 19 

Telegni])!!  brought  to  Lewisburg, 552 

Temperance  associations  formed, 483 


ANNAL8  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY.  dig 


Temperance  society,     504 

"             efforts, 544 

"             sons  of,  organized, 545 

Tenipleton,  Samuel,  deatli  of, 490 

Thomijson,  Captain  James,  narrative  of, 195 

Thornton,  Doctor  Thomas  A.  H.,      549 

Times,  Union,  ijublication  of,  began, 457 

"           "       editors  of,     522 

Titzell'smill, (52 

Tomato,  as  an  edible, 443 

Treaty  at  Fort  Greenville, 223 

Turtle  creek, 7 

Turnpikes, 495,496,497,552 

Tusk,  mammoth,  dug  up, 552 

Union  township,  siuvevs, 34 

"              "          erected, - 429 

"      covmty,            "           412 

"      Hickorj^,  (newspaper,)  removed  to  Lewisburg,     497 

"      furnace  built, 555 

"      seminary  at  New  Berlin  established, 556 

"              "           "      "          "        officers  of,      556 

Utica,  origin  of,  for  girl's  name, 489 

Universit}^,  Lewisburg,  act  to  establish,  passed, 546 

"                     "            first  commencement, 552 

"                     "            graduating  class, 552 

"                     "            change  of  presidents, 552 

"                    "            Academy  building  of,  groimd  broken  for,     .  548 

Van  Campen's  narrative  referretl  to, 191 

"Van  Fleet,  Cornelius,       245 

Van  Gundy,  Christian,  licensed, 51 

"  "  narratives  of, 91,171 

"                       "           notice  of,     242 

Vanvalzah,  Doctor  Robert, 253 

"                "            "        death  of, 551 

"                "       Thomas, 527 

"           Howard,  accident  to,      514 

Vincent,  Daniel,  incident  of,      178 

Wagoner,  Adam,  house  and  mill  burnt, 495 

Walker,  John,  sequel  to  his  murder, 212 

Washington  township  erected,     239 

"                  "          inhabitants  of, 239 

Watson,  Patrick,  killed, 189 

Watts,  Esquire,  David, 364 

Weather  record, 479,497,500,511,513,523,526,536 

Wedding,  first  in  the  Valley, 49 

"          party,     463 

Weeks,  Rachel, 245 

"        Jesse, 246 

Weirick,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  order  book, 42(5 

Weiser,  Conrad,  journal  of, 2 

"        Captain  Benjamin,  roll  of  his  com panj^ 140 

Weisertown,  residents  of, 332 

Weisner,  Thomas, 245 

Weitzel,  Captain  Casper,  letter  of, 77 

"               '*             "        reH-ef-Ms  ooaipaByT— ^S" 

"               "             •'        death  of, 213 

Welch,  Clinton,  drowned, 556 

West  Buffalo,  early  settlers  in, -'>4 

Wheat,  fall  of, -105 

Whisky  insurrection,  incidents  of, 286 

White  Deer  creek — Opaghtanoten,     7 


620  ANNALS  OF  BUFFALO  VALLEY. 


White  Deer  mills  built, 60 

"  "  "     burned,     175 

"  "     townshiiJ  erected, 89 

"  "  "        inhabitants  of, 149,182, 

194,214,2313,236,242,244,253,258,274,279,284,294, 
305 ,310 ,317 ,326 ,332 ,337 ,340 ,354 ,355 ,370 ,379 ,387 

"  "  "        valviation  of, 299 

"  "     distilleries  in, 260 

"  "     election  district,     310 

"  "     Hole  valley,  people  of, 245 

White  Miufj-o,  murder  of, 24 

Wliitnian,  Professor,  J.  S.,  elected  county  superintendent, 555 

Weirbach's,  John,  daughter  captured, 206 

Williams',  Major  Ennion,  journal, 63,84 

Wilson,  John, 33 

Wilson,  Judge  William, : 81,159,162 

"  William,  Doctor  T.  H.,  grandlather, :....  49,188 

"  Thomas, 320 

"  "  of  Kelly,  death  of, 504 

"  William,  of  Kelly, 470 

"         Honorable  Hugh,  death  of, 545 

"         Hugh,  of  Buffalo,  notice  of, 545 

Winfield  post-offce  established, 552 

Witchraft  farce, 484 

Withington,  Captain  Peter, 124 

"  Martin  opens  hotel, 269 

Wolfe's,  John,  barn  burned, 545 

Wolfinger,  John  F.,  quoted, 94,143,245 

Wolves  perish  from  cold, 523 

Woolen  factories, 538 

Worden,  O.  N.,  quoted, 45,283,371,548 

Wright,  John,  (erratum  for  Weight,  read  Wright,) 422 

Yellow  fever, : 280 

Yeomans,  Doctor,  preaches  at  Lewisburg, 548 

Yieselj^  Michael,  notice  of, 454 

Young,  Margaret,  story  of, 197,251 

"        James,  death  of, « 481 


^^^^^^^Jh^^RHw^^S^^V^^^I^ 

^^M 

SUPPLEMENTAL   NOTE. 


After  these  Annals  had  gone  to  press,  John  Jordan,  junior,  Es- 
quire, of  Philadelphia,  found  in  the  library  of  the  Archives  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  at  Bethlehem,  the  Narrative  of  Anne  LeRoy  and 
Barbara  Leininger,  referred  to  upon  page  12.  He  writes :  "  it  is 
in  the  German  language,  fourteen  pages,  and  bound  in  one  of  the 
five  volumes  entitled  '  Farm,'  in  that  library,  of  which  Bishop  Ed- 
ward de  Schweintz  is  custodian.  It  purports  to  be  taken  from  the 
lips  of  the  parties,  but  does  not  give  exact  information  of  the  precise 
places  where  the  girls  were  captured.  They  lived  on  adjoining  farms, 
some  miles  from  Shamokin.  They  were  taken  in  October,  1755, 
and  reached  Philadelphia  May  6,  1759." 


I  am  glad  the  occasion  for  a  note  enables  me  to  acknowledge  my 
obligations  to  Williaini  H.  Egle,  M.  D.,  of  Harrisburg,  for  many 
valuable  suggestions,  and  for  his  intelligent  and  laborious  supervision 
of  the  proofs ;  but  for  which,  in  a  book  containing  such  an  abund- 
ance of  names  and  dates,  many  errors  other  than  those  which  may 
possibly  be  found  must  have  occurred. 

John  Blair  Linn. 
/u/j  18,  1877. 

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